Promise Me Mortality
by Yuki Kimagure
Summary: [YAOI AU] Sora is involved in a massive accident and decides to leave Destiny Islands. How will Riku deal with their separation and can he confess to Sora before someone gets to him first? RikuxSora SoraxOC. REVIEW please!
1. House of Sorrow

_A/N: Hey, this is me, I decided that after reading about a bazillion Sora Riku fics, I decided to pick up the pen again and write one of my own. Well, read it and please R&R. Its really good, and SoraxRiku. Plus I'll give you lemons later okay? Promise. Well, hope you enjoy._

* * *

Promise Me Mortality

* * *

_"Promise me"_

_"What?"_

_"Promise you'll be with me forever" _

_"Forever is a really long time."_

_"Just promise me"_

_"Okay, I'll be there for you forever"_

_

* * *

_

**Chapter 1: House of Sorrow**

The metal clashed to the floor and a short thud from the wooden handle came soon after. It didn't work, he still couldn't get over it. He looked up to the medicine cabinet mirror and faced the youth before him.

His skin was a bluish pale, his veins showing in blues and reds all over his face. Pressing his palm against the glass, he smiled waveringly.

"See, this was how much you meant to me. How much you…" he said before cried, leaning his head against the blood spot he made on the cool glass.

"Why can't you leave me alone! Why can't you go away!" he yelled, beating his fist against the wall next to him as he cried. "Why does forever hurt so much? I don't want forever."

He could see her warm violet eyes looking at him with pity. She always was there. Since that day, she always stood there, when he broke down, and would just stand there, silent.

"Leave me!" he yelled as he swung the cabinet open. The door hit the wall with a loud thud as he searched through the numerous bottles of medicine that he had for depression and his mother's anemia pills and supplements.

Happiness. He found his lifeline and shakily popped the top open. The cloudy white pills spilled all over the floor, leaving few in the bottle. His third bottle in four months. He eyed the last two clean pills in the vessel pleadingly. He put the mouth of the bottle over his head and, with a quick jolt, downed the pair quickly. Closing his eyes, he smiled sickly as he tried to swallow them down his dry throat and choked for a few minutes.

Turning on the faucet, he filled the powder filled bottle with cold water and shook it, his flaky white cotton ball thumb keeping the concoction from escaping. Licking his lips, he smelled the bottle and sighed at the glorious smell of chemicals and rank plastic. The eyes were starting to fade, becoming more worried as it began to falter.

It was ambrosia, beautiful and sweet on his unfeeling tongue. Licking the rest of the liquid in the bottle neck, he closed his eyes and sat in the tub. With its cold comfort around him, the draining sensation from his still bleeding palm which smeared more red along the blue white porcelain, and the effects of the drugs he had taken, he hummed to himself a song. Her favorite song.

He fell asleep.

* * *

"Sora! Open this door! Sora!"_The hell is that?_

Bam, Bam, Bam!

"Sora! Honey? If you don't open this door, I'll have to break it down myself!"

_Not like you can mother. You're too weak to do that. Not like you'd hurt a fly anyway._

"Here I come," he said groggily as he looked up to the ceiling above. He had no idea of how long he had been out, nor did he really care.

He had skipped school again for the second time this week. All of his assignments had been mailed to him and he had been receiving at home lessons from his history teacher. He also had the 'opportunity' to take his science labs way before school opened so he could have all of the privacy he needed.

He didn't want to face anyone at school. Three weeks after the accident, he had to be helped by his friend Wakka with his crutches. The school, that was once so carefree and loud, had become silent when he made his way through the halls. Some of the underclassmen would run up to the crowds just to get a view at him. The freak show. Wakka would assure him that nothing was wrong and to just ignore them. Tidus would just yell at them to mid their own business. They were good friends.

He was Lazarus. They all viewed him as a dead man, walking once more in life. A wonder. A spectacle. And they were right. He was supposed to die.

They all were supposed to die that night when the rains had come so early. But he guessed God had different plans for him. He was pulled out before the final hit.

A flock of girls, Kairi's best friends, all wore lavender shirts with her picture in the front. She was always wearing a sweet and playful smile, her eyes glistening happily. Below that picture said 'Kinoyami Kairi, our candle in the wind.' They all looked to him with tear-filled eyes, how she would look at him since that accident.

He went through his day with his faithful brawny assistant. They had most of the same classes anyway, and when they didn't, he would be turned over to Tidus. He always gave him smiles and told him jokes that he had seen on the comedy shows he had watched recently. They always used to go to Riku's house, the five of them, to watch TV every Saturday evening.

Riku…

It was the thing that hurt him the most. He was his closest friend, the one who he had shared baths with when they were infants till when they were six when it was 'uncool' to do. He was the one who 'he' taught how to rollerblade the day before his roller rink birthday party. It was Riku who he shared every crush that he had and vice versa. The friend who he had always leaned on when he had been rejected or just had a bad day wasn't there for him.

As the chemistry class went on, it hurt even more to see Riku simply sit there, leaning over his notes which he had initially assumed were on the lecture on balancing acids. His face looked worn, not as youthful and handsome as he had always been. With looks like that, Riku had always been one of the school favorites, girls alwys cooing against their lockers as he walked coolly by. He always just shrugged it off and kept his cool. But Sora and Wakka had always known him inside.

Growing up together, they had been there when his first girlfriend had dumped him, Riku's 'love of his life' at twelve. Then, when his sister fell ill and died, Riku had run away. He hid in Wakka's house since Wakka only lived with his elder sister Pima and if he ran to Sora's house, it wouldn't be long until Sora's mother would find him and have his father take him home.

The death of his sister was the hardest thing Riku had ever gone through that Sora had known. Sira was a beautiful girl, long black hair like her mother Tifa and the dominant blue eyes like her father Sephiroth. She was just like the both of them, stern yet fair and very loving with those close to her. When they were five, Sira was always their babysitter, sitting them in front of the TV and playing with them. She was their second mother.

During college, she decided to go on a research and humanity trip to Africa. She had always dreamed of going to different places and learning about people and their lifestyles. She was doing fine until soon after the rains when the mosquitoes came out. At first, it was only a fever but then it got worse. Riku assured his parents that she would be fine, that she was strong and would be back to normal.

She seemed a ghost. Her once warm skin was pale and covered in sweat, making her hair stick weakly around her face. Two days later, she died. It was the morning when she was to go to the hospital for treatment and she passed on in Riku's arms on the window seat. It was her last wish to see the sunset with her little brother.

After that, all he would do was cry softly in Wakka's closet, huddled under his mass of coats and winter blankets. It was a continual sob until he cried himself to sleep each time.

* * *

"Sora," began his mother softly. She had a soft worrying face when she spoke to her son across the family room. It was the start of another talk.

"I know it has been hard for you to lose Kairi and your father, its been hard on me too. Do you want to leave here?" she asked, bringing the attention of her son.

Leave her? Did she not love him? Did she blame him for what had happened, for being the only one to survive when everyone else had died so suddenly?

"Do you not want me anymore?" he asked sadly. His eyes focused on the now dried yellow flowers his father had given his mother the day before he died. She never moved anything that he had touched since then, trying to preserve his memory forever. The vase began to smell again, his mother needed to add whatever she does to keep down the stink of rancid ooze and rotten stems.

"Of course I do honey. You're all that I have left. But I just thought that maybe it would be best for you if you were to stay with your uncle Zack. I know you'd be happy in Midgard with him."

He thought about it for a while. His 'uncle' Zack lived alone in a huge condo in a ritzy side of Sector 3, home to the ShinRa Military. He remembered visiting as a little boy on the summers to watch the fighter jets perform their tests and men and women in uniform marching along. If he went there, then he could be away from Destiny Islands, the memories, and all of the people who he couldn't be around just yet. Also, he could actually go to a school with interesting new people so he could actually get a good education rather than graduate on Cliff Notes.

"I guess that would be good. I mean, I miss being around people normally. Sure," he said nonchalantly, hiding his sudden eagerness to go. A new life! New people! He could be normal again and forget about the horrible accident. Life could be the same again.

* * *

Sora looked up at the dully lit window of a colonial style lemon yellow house. He could see Riku walk around thoughtfully, as if trying to figure out some kind of mystery. This was his last stop. Soon after deciding to leave, Sora picked up the phone and called Wakka. They had spent a whole day reminiscing with Tidus about their friendship and how much they would miss him when he left. Then they, being the big boys that they were, huddled together crying. It almost made Sora rethink his decision and stay there with them but the memories were too painful to bear.

It was a week since that day and tomorrow Sora had to board the plane. He had tried to call Riku for the whole week but he either had a busy signal or he didn't want to talk right then. He was probably still mourning the death of Kairi like the rest of the school was. But tonight was the night to say goodbye to his childhood friend, like it or not.

Sighing deeply, he rang the doorbell, letting it chime elegantly through the house.

"I'm coming!" called who he presumed to be Riku's mother Tifa. The large white paneled door opened to a tall and rather busty woman wearing red Everlast shorts and a thick black workout tank. Tae Bo was Tifa's newest addiction after her kickboxing class was held off due to the instructor's pregnancy. She wiped off the sweat on her forehead and grinned.

"Why hello Sora! Nice to see you out and about! I'm sorry I'm all sweaty, just in the middle of a new Tae Bo tape," she laughed. Waving him in, the tired woman led him to the family room, kicking over her various exercise equipment. Patting on the couch, he sat down next to her, looking around the room.

It was very nice with a soft cream color on the walls and strip molding along the lower middle of the walls in a paneling fashion. The Samsung flat screen that Riku's dad Sephiroth received from the family friend Rufus as a birthday present sat proudly against the wall, glistening in it's new condition. Billy Blanks was paused in a yell kicking artfully to the left of him, high in the air. Too bad Tifa was better in her form by far.

"So, how are you Sora? We haven't heard from you in so long we were worried about you," she said as she turned on a fan with the remote next to her. He looked into his lap nervously, shifting his feet. He couldn't tell Tifa, the one who had helped raise him and loved him just like a son that she might not see him again.

"You know, Riku has made himself sick over you too," she said, her cheery demeanor graying a little. 'Riku? Worried with _me_?' he thought confusedly. With all of the avoidance maneuvers and cold stares, he was worried about _him_? It was a little too hard to believe for him so he simply kept silent.

"Ever since the loss of Sira, he has clung to you guys more than ever. But I guess with the accident and all, he was afraid he had lost you too," She then gave a smirk. "He almost walked all the way to the hospital to see you when he knew."

He was really that worried? Why didn't he say anything about it? These thoughts circled through his mind as he sat puzzledly staring at the aggression in Billy Blank's concentrating face.

"Yeah, I'm sorry I worried you all," he said in a monotone fashion.

"It's okay Sora. You're here for him now so nothing else really matters," she said as she leaned farther back into the chair, crossing her legs.

"I'm going to be leaving tomorrow," Sora said abruptly. There was no other way he could figure out to say it. Tifa sat up and gave him a look of concern.

"Why? Where are you going?"

"To Midgard. With uncle Zack. I'll be living there for a while until I feel ready to come back home again."

"But how long will that be Sora? And why didn't you tell us sooner?"

"I-I don't know… maybe it could be a semester, a year, or…" he swallowed this fact hard. "…or I might not come back at all."

Tifa's eyes watered as she held back her tears. Sora, the little boy she watched grow up with her son and become a smart and wonderful young adult, was going to leave forever and this was their last goodbye. She leaned forward and hugged him gently.

"You are such a wonderful boy Sora. No matter where you go, everyone will love you for who you are. Just don't forget us," she said soothingly. He could feel the tears coming up as well and he held onto her, crying into her sticky shoulder.

_He remembered the time when Tifa had picked up the two from kindergarten after her workout in the gym. Riku, or 'Kiku' as Sora had called him since when he was too young to say it correctly, had been always the one to ride on her shoulders while Sora was contented to simply hold onto her hand on their walks to Riku's house. However, that day, Sora was crying at the pickup area while Riku just sat there, arms crossed._

"_Sora? What's wrong honey?" she cooed as she kneeled down in front of the weeping boy. He opened his large blue eyes, looked over to his angry friend and cried again._

"_We were playing…. and I made you…. a sand castle…. and I was gonna show you… but Kiku kicked it…" he mumbled before he broke out into a long wail yet again. Tifa looked at her son crossly while he simply looked away like nothing had happened. 'Just like his father,' she groaned mentally._

_Then, ceremoniously, she picked Sora up and put him on her shoulders. He looked around a little bit, wiped his snot and tears on his sleeve and nervously help onto her head. Riku however was taken aback._

"_Hey! No fair!" he yelled and tried to climb up his mother to his rightful seat. She simply grabbed his hand forcefully and walked out of the school, a cross little Riku tagging behind._

_After about a block of silence, the silver haired child stopped in the middle of their walk. "I'm sorry," he said sincerely, himself about to cry for hurting his friend. The little brunette looked down curiously, then tried to get down. When he was set down, little Sora toddled over to Riku who was hunched down on bent knees, looking at the ground as a few crystalline teardrops fell. The crying boy however was surprised when he was suddenly hugged and his tears roughly wiped away by his friend's tiny hands._

"_Its okay Kiku. I forgive you," he said with a gentle smile, one like his mother Aeris'. Grabbing his hand, Sora led his recovering friend ahead of the very touched Tifa and they happily walked the rest of the way home._

Suddenly, Tifa caught the sight of her son standing there in shock and then charging up the staircase. "Riku!" she exclaimed as she suddenly let go of Sora and stood up, chasing him. Sora soon snapped out of the shock as well and chased closely after her. He had heard, everything. He heard that he was leaving and maybe never coming back. It made him panic. Would he shut me out now? Now that he knows that I'm leaving?

His door slammed infront of them, locked and all.

"Riku honey? Open the door," his mother started calmly. Though she was good at times, Tifa had a very terrible temper that was not to be messed with. Sephiroth sadly understood that too well after Tifa's two pregnancies.

"No! Leave me alone!" yelled an obviously angry and hurt Riku. Tifa grit her teeth and forced a smile.

"Sora came all this way to see you. Why don't you let _him_ in? I'll stay outside," she tried again. Silence.

"Riku if you don't open this door right now I'll…!" she began, fist reared for the punch when they heard the soft clicking of the lock. They both watched puzzled as the gold colored doorknob turned and the door open with a lazy creak.

He stood behind the door meekly and looked over to Sora. His face was worn so much that it looked like years had been added to him, in a bad way. But his once bright ultramarine eyes were now a dull cyan. Nodding to him, Sora cautiously approached the door and entered.

* * *

"Sora, do you really want to leave me?"

He sat on Riku's bed confusedly as he watched his friend's back quiver.

"I don't understand you Riku. I don't want to leave you. You're my best friend."

"Then why are you leaving?" Riku turned around, filled with betrayal. "If I'm your best friend, why are you going away? And why didn't you tell me when I could have done something about it?"

Sora backed up a little on the bed and eyed him nervously. There were few times when he was even remotely scared of Riku. This time, he was terrified.

"I… I tried to call you, over and over again this week." He stood up with more confidence. "I wanted to tell you, but you shut me out!"

Good, Riku was weakening. His shoulders slumped and he looked at the ground deflated.

"Ever since I heard about the accident, I thought you died," he started in a wavering voice. "Do you know how it feels, to lose something you can't imagine life without?"

Sora looked at him suspiciously. 'Okay, that was weird.'

"I mean, I've known you since our mothers put their stomachs together. You kicked me remember?" he said with a chuckle as he settled himself on the floor against his dresser. "But since then, we've always been together, talking, crying, laughing. I can't remember a time when you haven't been there for me, when I wasn't at least around you. Its like you're a part of me."

"I know, I feel that way too Riku," he said hesitantly. It was true. Wherever there was one, there was the other close by. They were like Castor and Pollux, they were always affected by what that the other felt. Right now, he was hurt. He was going to have to leave his best friend behind, to go to a place with complete strangers, to a school that he didn't know.

Warm arms circled around him as he began to cry. He didn't want to go, he wanted to stay with Riku and lay out on the beach with his friends, talking of the summer and college and the future. Destiny Islands was his home, his heart would always be there no matter how much he could possibly like Midgard.

"I need you Sora," he cried as he held fiercely onto him, sobbing into his shoulder. It surprised him. The Riku who, on outside appearances looked like the more collected on of the group, was truly apart at the seams without him. He gave Riku strength while Riku protected him when he needed it. Riku was his Samson, could he truly betray him?

That whole night, he never left his side as laid there with Riku, holding himuntil they fell asleep.

* * *

"Sora?"

"Mmmmmm….."

"Sora!"

"What?"

"Come here with me."

"Why?"

"I want to show you eternity."

Sora rubbed his eyes as he sat up in the bed. His t-shirt and shorts that he wore to the house were now all wrinkled and shifted awkwardly. He had practically forgot that he had slept there the whole night. His mother must be worried.

Riku took his hand and led him out the door. Walking down the hall, they reached another door and opened it.

It was Sira's room. The single ceiling light was turned on to illuminate the bedroom. It seemed like a dollhouse, everything was placed exactly how it was everyday that she lived there. Even the tea tray that she always drank her morning tea on sat comfortably on the bed, her favorite teacup still showing its brown residue of use.

"This way," said the silver crowned boy as he led him up to the window seat. Pulling away the meringue colored drapes, clear blue eyes widened. The view was beautiful, more beautiful than he remembered. He could see the road stretch out to the other beautiful houses in the gated neighborhood. At the end was the pure white belt of the beach. And then the endless pristine blue of the ocean. It seemed endless, beautiful as the small white waves caressed the shore.

"Its beautiful huh?" said Riku with a proud smile. He nodded and sat at the window.

"Oh look! It's the sunrise! Beautiful!" exclaimed Sora as he pressed his nose against the glass, watching eagerly. The midnight blue sky slowly was giving way to lighter hues and then orange. Like an explosion of light, the sun sent its first ray across the land, telling the land to wake up for the new day.

Riku watched him with soft eyes, remembering the last time he enjoyed the sunset with his dying sister. That day, he swore he would never look at another sunrise with anyone else again. He sat himself behind Sora and watched his delight in the spectacle.

"Wow! Look at that color! Its so awesome!"

"Yeah."

Sora continued to watch until the sun was a good amount out of the horizon and smiled, the warm golden light bathing his skin in warmth.

"Sora? I…"

The blue eyed teenlooked back to his friend glowing gold and red, waiting for him to continue.

"I… I'll miss you."

"Me too Riku."

* * *

_A/N: Hello, I know you're probably thinking "MAN! WHAT THE HELL KIND OF ENDING IT THIS?" But, its all for reason. The next chapter should come out soon since it only took me about half a day to whip this out. Well, hope you like and please review! No reviews, no chapters! Nada, Zip, Zero!_

_Hehe. Well, this will be a SoraxRiku fic but it will take time ne? So bear with me. It'll be good, I swear! Well, see you later. Bye!_

_-_


	2. Learning to Live

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Square does. Anyone you don't recall being in KH or any of the Final Fantasies, most likely are mine. Like Sira Lockheart. I'll make a list as I go along.

A/N: Hey, I decided to start chapter two right after I sent out chapter one. It'll keep the flow that way, I hope. Heh. So anyway. These next chapters will address Sora's drug habit, more about the accident a little, and the Strife and Lockheart families' pasts (there is a reason why Riku's familyare the Lockhearts). Plus there is the lovely Zack so why ask for more? Heh, yeah. Hope you enjoy.

* * *

Promise Me Mortality

* * *

"_Sora?"_

"_Mmmmmm….."_

"_Sora!"_

"_What?"_

"_Come here with me."_

"_Why?"_

"_I want to show you eternity."_

* * *

Chapter 2: Learning to Live

The plane ride was a quiet one. Many of the people on the plane looked as if they hadn't come from Destiny Islands, or the area for that matter. It was mostly true, the people of Destiny Islands fall so much in love with the casual and carefree lifestyle that they never feel the urge to leave. Unless they witnessed their father and girlfriend's deaths and come out alive.

He sighed and looked at the scenery below him. It had long passed the soft and serene coastline to a large desert with endless sands and hills. What if the plane were to crash right here? Could he survive or would he perish alone with no one around to even toss a flower to his dead feet?

Reaching into the side bag he took as a carryon, he pulled out a blank bottle and too his third and fourth pills for the day. Luckily, he had reduced his amount from ten a day to six, he still was very sick. 'I need to see a doctor about this,' he thought, 'Or at least start smoking or something safer.'

His now induced mind began to wander as he looked blankly out of the window. Last night was the best sleep he had had since the accident. Normally, he had nightmares of it and would cry out at night, making his mother come in and give him some warm milk and sometimes one of his father's sleeping pills. Soon he began to simply take them just for the habit of it and to give him some release from life. It was the same pills he now took.

However, the medicine had quickly lost its effects and he began to have increasingly sick nightmares where Kairi's mangled body would come out of the burning car and try to drag him into the fire. Or he would hear her call for him and then he would be in a burning building, burning to death.

But last night, when he held Riku and slept, he had the best dream of all, nothing. It was black and cool and comforting, enveloping him in its nurturing embrace. Even since they were little, when he and Riku slept together, they were always so comforted by the mere presence of each others heartbeat that it took forever to make them get out of bed. He fondly remembered when they were young, about five or six, and they would just spend the whole morning having tickle fights, cuddling, and making up crazy tales of adventures they wished to have. A lot of times, Riku would be a pirate who would make all of the neighborhood girls walk the plank and Sora was the smart astronaut who invented machines to solve their problems.

"I wish I could solve all of my problems now," he thought aloud, not caring who heard.

He was soon to land in ShinRa Airport and meet his uncle Zack at the gate. He vaguely remembered his uncle but he knew that he and his dad were very close. They both were in the military together SOLDIER to be exact. A photo of his father in his youth with a frown and the older man with long black hair and excited eyes sat on the mantle in the family room in his house.

Supposedly, he was his mother's first love and fiancé until he went missing one day. The friend that helped her through the time ended up being his father and they were married. Sadly, Zack was found two years after Sora's birth and looked for his 'bride.'

He actually visited when Sora was three-years-old, when he had finally found them in Destiny Islands. The gentle giant loved him at first sight when he peered out from behind his mother's skirts.

"_Be nice Sora. This is your Uncle Zack. Sorry, he's a little shy," she said as she tried to coax him from behind her. The little boy simply looked up at him with his father's haunting blue eyes and whimpered in fright._

"_Maybe he's not used to a tall handsome devil such as myself," said the raven haired gargantuan with a laugh. He quickly bent down and scooped up the boy in his arms and held him in the air. "See, now you're taller!" he laughed._

_When poor Sora's eyes saw the ground way below him, he did the one thing that he could think of, he laughed. Not only laughed but went into hysterics as he waved his eager hands in the air, making a flying motion. Zack grinned even wider and tossed the boy into the air, swiftly catching him. Complete love indeed._

"**We are now landing in Midgard. I repeat, we are now landing in Midgard."**

'Oh, I totally fell asleep,' Sora thought as he sat up straight. He had the right to be tired, he had been woken up early by Riku to see the sunrise with him.

Riku…

Before things were too melancholic, the plane began its descent. The city was huge! A gargantuan mass of metal and lights in a circular pizza shape with 'slices' became bigger and bigger. The plane slowly circled around the middle tower, its spotlights waving back and forth to search the sky for whatever in was looking for. Everything about the metropolis seemed busy, totally unlike the calm serenity of the islands. Anticipation heightened as he saw the large white airport get closer and closer.

The plane touched the ground with a jolt and bounced a little before starting to slow down. It then went under the large white overpass of the landing section. Slowing to a stop, Sora sighed as he looked out the side window.

"One step at a time."

* * *

The vastly taller man helped him toss his luggage into the back of the sleek black car. Everything _was_ different, to Sora's surprise. First, the city was a lot bigger than he could even imagine. The tall central tower was so far off in the distance, it could only be seen on high level ground. Then, the air was thin and smoky. Smog he guessed it was from what he learned in science class. As far as he knew, the air would always be fresh and nicely salty, where if you took a full breath, it _would_ make all your cares disappear. However if you took a lungful of this stuff, you'd probably well die from it.

The car sped along through the street as his Uncle Zack showed him what there was to see.

"Well, Sector 4 is basically a giant bus stop if may say so. This is where all of the transportation vehicles and devices are made and shipped to for repairs. The sectors where the fun's really at are Sectors 2 and 8," he said with a big grin at the end.

"You see, Sector 2 is where all of the clubs are, really wild. I mean, not like you should be going there anyway, but the parties there are excellent! All day and all night clubs with good drinks and good women--," Zack then paused when he could catch a beet red glow coming from his nephew. "Never mind that. You'll learn later. Well, Sector 8 has really changed these past few years of your lifetime. It used to be a total slum. Really run down place."

The tires screeched in pain as he cut a corner sharply.

"But now, its gorgeous. If I didn't love my condo now, I would be living out there. It is a really ritzy neighborhood, very high class people live there. Even President Shinra himself has a summer house there. It's a lot cleaner air there too. Stricter laws like no smoking or rough chemicals on their lawns. Imagine that, lawns!"

Soon, a car honked as they ran through a red light.

"Yeah fuck you too! There's no rush pal!" yelled Zack as he flipped off the obviously angry driver as they sped away. Sora just shrunk even lower into the jet black leather seat, trying to figure out if he would possibly live to the end of the trip.

"Sorry about that. Don't worry, I'm a lot better on my motorcycle. I hardly ever drive cars unless they are tanks. Then I'm excellent at that."

Sora groaned as he looked through his bag.

'I need my pills…"

* * *

Sector 3 was… very structured. All that could be seen was military camps and tanks and fields for test combat and drills. This was the place he was supposed to be living? This was a boot camp! Sora nervously looked out over the sides of the car, looking for any sign of normal housing. He could just imagine it. His mother truly lying to him and making him live in a camo tent with no way to get home, his friends and family laughing at him for being a fool.

"Here we are! Home sweet home!" said his uncle as he slowed the car into the downstairs garage. Here already? So we're that close to the marching and the guns and the camo?

Another long raven-haired man, a little bit shorter, wearing blood red pants and a black tattoo shirt with red roses all over, leaned against the wall, arms crossed. He seemed a bit… odd in his attitude, ethereal. But not like Riku where it was mystical and beautifully haunting. It was as if the man had just left the realm of the dead not so long ago.

'I can't believe I used 'Riku' and 'beautiful' in the same sentence,' thought Sora confusedly. 'That was kinda new.'

"Wait too long for me Vince?" asked his uncle supposedly to the eerie man who was now approaching them.

"I was wondering where my car could have possibly run off to. And the name is Vincent," he said. Vincent approached the car and inspected the youth sitting inside. It felt as if Sora himself was transported to some kind of foggy realm in Middle Earth with a ring wraith inspecting him with intensity. He backed up a little nervously and lowered his head.

"Hey! Don't you scare the kid! Seriously Sora, he really doesn't understand his affect on people," yelled Zack as he pulled out the luggage and dragged it over to the elevator. Vincent elegantly reached across the boy and grabbed the keys from the dashboard before giving the intruder one last inspecting glance. The teen completely understood what his uncle was saying. He _was_ intimidating. It was his eyes. They were bright blood red, and haunting, giving the impression as if he possibly couldn't see but still could at the same time.

'What's up with this guy?'

"Sora, come on! Unless you want to live in the car. In that case, you'd have to ask Vince first," yelled his uncle from inside the elevator. The Vampire, as he mentally nicknamed him, glared at his uncle in annoyance. Hurriedly, Sora grabbed his things and ran out to the now slowly closing doors.

They slowly rode up and arrived at level two. Then, they stepped out and moved down the long hall the door at the far right.

"This complex is one of the best for military personnel. Each floor you share with one other person, in this case, the lovely and oh so personable Vincent Valentine," boasted Zack as he flipped through his keys. They were all different sizes shapes and dimensions, one was a large cylindrical tube with etchings through it and then curved out like a bell at the end.

'I can't wait to figure out what that one's for.'

Picking one of the smaller keys, he turned the brass doorknob and opened it dramatically.

"And this is your new home!"

Sora moved his way uncertainly into the room. It was huge, bigger than hew imagined it. It was just as if it were a normal house. The furniture however was far from normal. Most of it was either black, leather, had sharp edges, or a combination of the three.

'Typical bachelor pad,' Sora thought as he stepped in further. The first room from the door was a large living room with the front wall a giant window overlooking the green fields of the military site, or some kind of park, who knows. There was a nicely placed black leather sofa in the middle that seemed like the most comfy thing on the planet, with two angular midnight blue stuffed chairs on either side, facing in. A large black big screen TV was then in front of the window, not as fancy as Riku's but just as awesome.

All around was scattered potted palms and ferns in sleek black square planters. Above was a modern glass sheet chandelier in squares and rectangles. Behind that was a fairly good sized kitchen. It too was black and was accented with warm yellow and gold. The island that separated it from the living room was about the height of a dining room table, wide in a pentagon shape. Atop the black finished wood was an arrangement of bright yellow flowers in a clear glass vase, a design that didn't seem to fit in the room very well. The chairs were simply wooden ones with black faux leather seats and back so they were now nothing too noteworthy.

"Like it huh kid?" asked his uncle in a boasting manner. He walked up to Sora and put his hand strongly on his shoulder. "Just see your room. I fixed it up for you and everything."

Vincent coughed. Was that supposed to be a chuckle? Zack groaned in annoyance and held up his hands in defeat.

"Actually, it was Vince who rebuilt it. Mighty good job too, if I do say so myself."

They walked off the end of the living room and walked down a sort hallway.

"The bathroom is on the right right here. Make sure the windows are closed when you go, I personally don't mind about an audience but you might."

Sora blushed a little at the thought of a bunch of tall butch women watching him do his business in the morning, or even worse, a bunch of _men_. He had then come to the conclusion that he would be good and molested by the time he would leave to go back to Destiny Islands, or university, whichever comes first.

The hallway then made a left turn and went for a long expanse downwards. There were two doors, one straight ahead and on to the right. On the right-hand door, there was a sheet of notebook paper with the words 'Sora's Room' written out and a drawing of a smiley face with overly exaggerated spiky hair and a pleasant grin. He supposed that it was a caricature of him.

"Now to your grand suite," said his uncle and started a drumming sound as he slowly turned the knob.

'Okay, this man really needed some kind of suppressants or something. He was bouncing off of the walls.' The nephew thought as he raised an eyebrow at the spectacle.

It was glorious. The room was illuminated by silver light from the window as he walked in in total awe. It truly was a suite with a simple full sized bed in the corner with a white canopy hanging from overhead. A good sized bookshelf sat to the left of a computer table with his very own computer with a island paradise screensaver probably put on just for him. Then, in the other half of the room was a small handcrafted wooden coffee table with blue seating pillows arranged neatly all around it. A refurbished blue plaid loveseat was then behind the pillows and a standard black television sat in front of the arrangement, the perfect entertainment oasis.

Zack grinned proudly as he saw his previously depressing nephew walk around the room with glittering eyes, if he could put it any cheesier. Yep, one thing done successfully, now to get him to school.

* * *

Sora was unpacking as he saw something peculiar. It was a small red velvet box with a long black ribbon tied into a perfect bow. Riku's gift to him. He had given it to him as he watched him board the plane.

"Don't open it until you get there okay? Promise me," said the older boy with serious eyes. Sora raised an eyebrow at his seriousness.

"Okay Riku. I promise," he said nervously. Was it a bomb? Maybe a random confession of love? God nothing like that. It would be too… he didn't know, it just didn't feel right with Riku, too hard to even imagine it. First of all, Riku was a man, just like him, so it would be way too weird. Sora loved the softness of a woman's skin and curves than a more smooth and muscular body like Riku had.

'Smooth and ….? What? And I'm talking about Riku here? That was random,' he thought as he landed himself on the bed. 'Its not like Riku has a bad body, I mean most men would give anything to be blessed like he was. I just can't think of enjoying as much as I would enjoy someone as well as any other woman who comes along.' The thing that really prevented him from any serious consideration of Riku was that he was his best friend. They were too close already to try to start anything like that. Ignoring the creepiness it would have, Riku was like a twin brother to him and he wasn't considering incest anytime soon.

He rolled over to his side and looked at the small red box still resting in his hand. Should he open it? It couldn't be anything too bad. He shouldn't think anything too deep into it, after all, Riku was just like his father, too nervous to show his real emotions so he almost always put up a serious front.

'Come on, its Riku Sora! What's the worse that it could be? 'I hate your guts and I wish you _did_ die you coward?'' he chuckled as he pulled open the string, letting it fall to the comforter. He was about to open it when his uncle suddenly burst in.

"Guess what?" he yelled, panting from the obvious running he had done. What he was in a rush for, he never knew. It wasn't like there was anything special that should be happening today anyway. Were all people of Midgard this weird or was he an endangered species?

"I don't know, the sky's falling Chicken Little?" he asked sarcastically, sitting up from his position and resting the box on the counter. 'This will have to wait until later I guess.'

Zack stood up straight and ran his fingers through his hedgehog hair in a debonair fashion with a smirk. "The great and sexy Zack is to take you to your first day of class. Suit up."

"First day of class? I've only been here since yesterday! How the hell was I supposed to know about this?" he said as he sat up quickly, angry to no end. He should have studied, or taken a quick tour before he left, or something. The only thing he knew was that this school better be a hell of a good one or else he would be thoroughly pissed.

"Don't worry. I mean, I know I should have told you yesterday but you looked so happy to check for you favorite stations on the television that I thought it would be tragic to bring you any form of bad news." Zack was bad at persuasion. If he was on the edge of a building at this moment, he would jump off happily with middle finger in the air.

"Well what's the name of the school anyway? Where is it?" he asked as he pulled off his sleeping shirt and tossed it on his bed. Zack casually walked in and placed a garment bag across Sora's computer chair. The young boy eyed it suspiciously.

"Its Midgard Academy, right across the view right there is the back of the school. Its pretty nice, I went there myself, so did Vince," said Zack as he unzipped the long bag to reveal…

"Wait! Hold up! You didn't tell me this is a military school?" said Sora as he jumped. Now he _definitely_ knew that his mother didn't love him anymore. They went and recruited him into a military school, probably for troubled teens and the sort. Well, maybe it was the pills.

"Huh? Oh! Not its not! Its just that, well…" His uncle paused and scratched his head, trying to figure out a better way to put it. In a sense, it was a military school, where most of the students there were from high class SOLDIER families and such or wanted to enter the military right after high school in a higher position.

"Nope! I'm not going to crawl under a tarp all day long," said the teen as he sat down on the bed. Was his mom really gonna hear it from him. A military school? Sora could barely stand up for himself than go into the military. He'd get trampled, or raped, or whatever else he saw in those documentaries in history class. He didn't care what anyone said, they just had to be true if someone could make it so plausible.

"Its just a private school basically. Only since there are military families that live here, it took a military turn. I mean look at what's around us Sora, it a friggin' military base, this whole sector. So obviously it will take that kind of a spin," said Zack flustered. Sometimes, no matter how debonair he may seem, he still would become tripped up in his words when he really wanted to get his point across. He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "You'll enjoy it, trust me. I went there remember? See how I turned out?"

"Yeah, exactly why I don't wanna go," scoffed Sora.

"Just wear the uniform, it shouldn't be that much different from uniforms on TV. You don't have to wear the blazer though, its kind of hot today." His uncle then walked out and closed the door.

Sora just stood there looking into the bag as if it was a body bag and he had to identify the loved one inside. It can't hurt to try it out I guess right? I mean after all, it's just a private school. These were questions that ran though his mind as he sighed and pulled the white button-down shirt off of the hanger. It was crisp and new, with the faint smell of soft lemony detergent. Slipping it on, he looked to the full length mirror next to his dresser and gazed at himself. He was halfway there with his shirt left open at three buttons on the top. His extremely worn out jeans still remained on with one tanned toe wiggling out of his sock.

"This is going to be a big change," he said and then pulled on the pants. They wereblack and actually really nice feeling, it must have been a really good quality pair because he for once felt comfortable in pants like these. He then slipped out the ugliest webbed belt he had ever seen. Truly ugly. 'Whoever had come up with the idea of the webbed belt being fashionable enough to sell in bulk should be shot,' he thought as he slipped it on. However, he decided to take that comment back because he had well known that anything he said blatantly was stupid ended up being deemed the hottest item in magazines and then the whole damn school would wear them. Like bangles and guys wearing pink.

Just for a laugh, he decided to put on theblack blazer. That was the most awesome part of the uniform. First of all, it was a little too big for him and a bit heavy too, that was awesome. Then, it had a thick piece of coat fabric that was securely buttoned on each side of the shoulders. Epaulets he believed the word was. Then, it had the same type of 'ornamental thingies' as he had now dubbed them, on each sleeve. And on the front of the coat on the left side was the seal of the school. It was pretty simple gold colored shield with a triad in the middle of red green and blue. The top of the shield had a gold crown.

"Pretty cool. I wonder if I could customize this," he thought as he stood in front of the mirror. Now he truly looked the part, like the prized son of a family in SOLDIER. Making a sloppy impression of a salute, he laughed and took off the coat, laying it across the computer chair. Then he faced his biggest challenge, the tie. How people could so casually do such things, he never knew, for Riku was so excellent at doing them that sometimes he would just tie up shoestrings like that as a habit. How would he think of him now, not even two full days out of the islands but already changing so much? Would he be able to just fit in like he always did or would he need to take time to adjust?

During his short day dream, Zack had come in with some sort of processed drink. "What the hell are you doing, having a wet dream? You're going to be late! Hurry up!" he yelled at the shock that he took thirty minutes to put on only his shirt, pants, and the godforsaken thing called a belt that not even Sora's father Cloud wore, as much of a stiff as he was.

Sora blinked and rushed to his newly organized closet. Rushing through his small collection of shoes, he finally found a pair of white sneakers to wear with it all. Having to reluctantly retire his lucky yellow pump-ups. Having already done his grooming ritual, Sora just ran a quick hand through his messy hair, bringing it back to its previous state of dishevelment.

"Here, drink this while I put your damn tie on," said the now pissed off man as he gabbed the black tie from the floor. Doesn't this kid know how to handle good ties? They don't grow on trees, contrary to common belief. Sora sipped up the yellow orange drink up hesitantly and screwed up his face a little. It had the taste of coffee with mushrooms and refried beans all mixed up into one.

"What the hell is this stuff?" exclaimed the now oh-so sickened one. Zack just grinned and finished the ties before walking away to a safe distance. As he walked out of the room, he said over his shoulder, "Three week old coffee in the fridge, maybe that'll help you remember to get ready faster."

* * *

"That bastard, that bastard, that bastardly son of a bitch," cursed Sora as he walked down the long walkway to school alone. To his comfort huh after he had successfully held in the remaining good part of his breakfast from Zack's earlier prank and the terror filled ride there. Yes, the man _was_ a lot better at his driving when on a motorcycle and that awesome fury of metal was big, but red didn't necessarily mean dash as fast as you can through incoming traffic!

He sighed and looked up to the building. It was more like a manor really, the front hall. It was white and glass windows revealed many other teens looking a lot like himself walking around the glass and white filled halls inside, casually leaning back and talking or probably trying to remember what they had exactly crammed last night for their big test today. They looked pretty normal but still had the air that their parents could possibly afford to have them go to the school comfortably and that they themselves had houses so grand that they were very much accustomed to this impression of greatness.

A strong hand grasped his shoulder, making him spin around confusedly. In front of him was a slightly taller man of leaner build, staring at him intensely. After his inspection he shrugged and walked away from him as if he had been a bee, checking out the intruder before returning to the hive.

"The hell? Hey wait!" he yelled as he jogged up next to him. Sora looked at him now even more confused than before, wondering who the hell this guy thought he was to just walk up and stare at him like he owed him money. The teen simply looked over and raised an eyebrow.

"Hey." Hey? HEY! He fucking invades his privacy and the only thing he comes up with is hey? What the hell? Sora then glared and walked away.

"Fucking bitch," he muttered as he stormed off to the main building. Though his day started out pretty…well, horrible, he was determined that luck was going to be on his side. 'I'm gonna have a damn good day or I swear to God, someone's going down!'

* * *

After his bout of acting out of character, Sora finally landed in his seat. The list of classes was surprisingly normal. He thought he would be taking courses like The History of Defensive Military Tactics or Combat Strategics 101 but he stubbornly was beginning to learn that not all military schools are the same and not all things in movies are real though they say 'inspired by a true story' in the trailers.

The students were all talking, leaning against their desks and dishing out the latest news. Not knowing what to do, he simply sat in his seat, waiting for the teacher to begin class. The grizzly and older man sat behind the teacher's desk, mud hardened boots resting casually on the once clean surface as he leaned back in his chair and read some kind of mechanical manual. It seemed to be for some kind of four wheel vehicle. He then pulled out the neat toothpick from his thin chapped lips and gave out a sigh which came out more like a drowsy bear's groan.

"Take your seats!" he said in a conversational tone. Sora raised an eyebrow. How did he expect to get anyone's attention when he himself could barely hear him through the incessant chatter?

However, at the small command, all of the students then cut their conversations and moved quickly to their seats, not in a panic, but in a respectable fashion.

'Do they whip these kids or what?' the teen thought as he sighed and sat up, trying to give a good impression. 'Remember, I can be who I want and no one has to know how I used to be.'

The teacher stood up and tossed the newspaper behind him before clearing his throat. "Mornin' class," he said tiredly. He looked as if he had recovered from some kind of hangover, his face unshaven.

"Good Morning Cid," said the students in a chiming manner. They called the teachers by their first names too? Now that took the cake. This might actually be a very good school.

"Now, there's a new kid here. So lets just do some kind of a quick intro and get back to business," he said, scratching his blond head. Sora looked around uneasily. He didn't know whether to stand up and start or wait until he had been officially called upon. Deciding the safer and less embarrassing option, he did the latter.

Cid scanned the rows of the classroom for the new kid and, after finding a rather new face in an isolated section of the desks, he nodded his head over in his direction. "Hey you, you're up."

"Oh, okay," said Sora as he tried to shake away his nervousness when a sudden shift of heads turned to peer at him as well. 'This whole damn school has a serious staring problem,' he thought as he shifted himself out of his seat and stood up next to it. "Um, in the front of the class sir?" he asked.

"Well you said it first."

After making his way successfully to the front of the teacher's desk, he began his spiel. "Well, my name is Sora Strife. I'm obviously 17 years old, and I just moved here yesterday from Destiny Islands way out on the coast. Its really nice there so you should check it out."

"What's your favorite movie?" yelled one of the girls from the back rows. He scratched his head in thought as he looked to the floor.

"Uh… X/1999."

"What's your favorite sport?" asked one of the bigger guys from the left side of the class.

"Oh, its definitely blitzball. My friend Tidus got me into it. Its really awesome and a big event where I come from."

"What's your type of girlfriend?" asked another girl. Girlfriend…

Sora got quiet as he remembered the screeching of the tires on the slick pavement roads and the blur of the windows from the monsoons. He had a girlfriend, the best one in the world, but she was now gone.

Cid noticed the silence and pat the boy on the back. "Okay kid, nice intro. Go sit right between those two over there," he said as he pointed to an empty seat in the middle of the class. Sora simply nodded and sat down. He then laid out the plan for the rest of the day. Make it through the first day and then quit school while he was ahead.

* * *

It was lunch time and his now tired eyes lit up. The cafeteria was like a small gourmet diner. There was a section for sandwiches of all types and shapes, with the soups and salads next to it. Then there was a pizzeria stand and they cooked the pizza for you while you stood there. To the side was an Asian cuisine section with fresh sushi platters and broccoli and chicken rice bowls.

'Food! Okay, this school is still pretty cool,' he thought as he looked to see what he wanted first. And the best part was that lunch was an hour long, instead of the fun but crummy half an hour it was back home. This meant he could spend time hanging out with friends, playing games like basketball or something, and get tutoring if he needed it.

Following his gut he decided to go after the one thing he felt the craving for, sushi. He'd always loved sushi since the day when Sephiroth had surprised Riku and him after school by taking them to a really posh restaurant. The sushi there was to die for, and Sora loved each and every piece. Getting in line, Sora looked at the menu. Some of the things he didn't know but there was one thing he liked.

"Spicy crab please," he ordered and watched as the man nodded and gathered the morsels into a Styrofoam bento. He was definitely going to like this. A girl next to her giggled and smiled shyly.

"That's my favorite too," she said as she received her order of salmon over steamed rice. She had the features of a doll, nicely tanned with tiny but plump lips pursed into a cute little smile. Her long and straight black hair was swept back and tied into a knot with an ornamental pin through it. She reminded him of the native girls on the islands that loved to bathe themselves in the warmth of the sun and place tropical flowers all through their hair. They had seemed so beautiful and mystical that Sora never had the guts to even go up to them to say a friendly hello.

"Oh, uh… really?" he asked as he stood gawking at her beauty. She smiled and moved her way down the line, Sora eagerly following behind. Placing in their pin numbers into the machine, they checked out their food and walked out to the mass of tables.

"Would you like to sit with me?" she asked.

"Oh , sure. That would be great."

She walked out to a table in the corner and sat down. It was a considerably less noisy part of the cafeteria but the whole room seemed to be booming with activity. The girl smiled and held out her hand.

"My name is Shell Bastion. Pleased to meet you." Her voice was heavenly, like an angels harp plucked just at the right key. He blushed and took her hand in a handshake, grinning as well.

"I'm Sora Strife. Nice to meet you too."

"Oh, you're the new guy huh?" she asked, her bright orange eyes glittering in excitement.

"Yeah. Is it that obvious?"

"Well, you don't act like the other guys here. You're very laid back, a real type of person you know?" she asked. Laid back? Did she think that he was a bum, some kind of lowlife that really shouldn't be here at all. And how the hell did his mother randomly have that butt load of gil to be able to get him into this school in the first place? That was totally off topic.

"Is that bad?" he asked, lowering his eyes a little bit. He really felt the need to escape right then. Sora was just another guy, not rich with boats for their pet cats, he just had enough money to buy a pair of jeans with island prices. Who knows how much the prices here were.

"Oh no, not at all! Its just that guys here are just so, fake. They really don't act like who they are deep down here. They have to follow rules and live up to the ideas of what their parents want out of them," she said matter-of-factly. Shell sipped her tea as Sora gave an inner sigh of relief. He had a chance with her, at least to be friends. He really needed friends right now since he lacked in that department recently.

They talked for a few minutes about various things, where he came from, the fun things in Sector 3, and what teachers were good and who weren't. Apparently, her father was Professor Ansem Bastion of psychology and field research. Supposedly, he was really tough on his students and even tougher on the ones he liked. Fortunately for Sora, that class wasn't supposed to be in his schedule until next semester, plenty of time to get used to the idea of it. He sighed in relief.

"He's really nice if you get to know him. But he really doesn't like me having any boyfriends so you better watch out. He might go after you if you get too close," she said with a playful giggle. Get after me? What the hell was she talking about? Maybe this might take a little time to work out. All of these things went through his head as he sat and finished up his plate.

* * *

The rest of the day went pretty good, Sora happened to be able to get Shell's number and was intent on calling her when he got home. It was his last class of the day, Elite Literature. The teacher was a beautiful woman with long red hair in curls and a pair of thin rimmed glasses on her nose.

"Today class, we have a new student here. Please stand up Sora," she said as she seated herself in her chair. Sora sighed and walked up to the front of the classroom, it seemed like his fifteenth introduction today in class and he felt sick of being himself now.

"Well, you have probably heard my intros before so I'll keep this short. The name's Sora and I come from Destiny Islands. I love blitzball, hate soccer so don't ever ask me to play it. My favorite movie is X/1999 and I've _never _seen Beaches, never have and never will. I don't have a girlfriend and I don't intend on having a boyfriend at all, so don't ask. And I don't say dude and surf, so there. That's me."

The class just sat there silent, trying to digest his whole rant about everything in the world. The teacher blinked in confusion and clapped awkwardly. "Yes, very good dear. Now, just sit right there next to Rai," she said, pointing to one of the desks in the middle right. He retrieved his messenger bag and made his way over to what he assumed to be his desk and stood in horror.

Right in front of him was the bastard that had the nerve to inspect him on his way to school that day. He shot a glance back to the teacher and whimpered, "Where do you want me to sit again?"

She looked up from the agenda she had planned out the day before for class and frowned a little. "Right in front of you next to Rai. Rai, raise your hand."

The smug termite of a teen slowly did as he was told, looking Sora right in the eyes while doing so. The other classmates laughed at the minuscule spectacle. 'This bitch…' he thought spitefully as he sat down in his now assigned seat next to the devil. Lucky this was the last class of the day because if it wasn't, the poor teen would might as well explode.

"I see you remember me." It spoke! The slimy little bastard spoke! A feeling of stiffness came over Sora as he mechanically turned his head to give this Rai person an evil glare.

"I'd remember Satan if I saw him," he spat and went back to waiting for the teacher to start her damn lecture. 'Hurry up you chunky cow! Move it!'

"Sorry about the mix up this morning. I thought you were someone else."

"Someone else? Who the hell else could I be? And why not even a damn apology? I mean its not that hard to say 'Oops, my bad!'" ranted Sora, face reddening in anger. One thing that Sora didn't and never did like was someone trying to dominate him. He hated it with a passion. It was as if the other person didn't have an inch of human compassion to realize that he was a human being too, filled with emotions, hopes, thoughts, and a flurry of fists ready to kick their asses. He now felt in this situation.

The bastard grinned and pats him on the back. "Well, oops my bad. Better?" he asked. Now he was mocking him. Who the hell did he think he was? Like he owned the place?

"Fuck you," he muttered before going back to his failed attempt of avoidance. The students behind them simply laughed as Sora made a complete fool out of himself. Sure, Rai had won the battle but Sora Strife would definitely win the war.

* * *

"Over here little nephew!" yelled Zack at the front of the school. He sat proudly on his purring beastly motorcycle, causing the attention of a few classmates. The girls all squealed about how 'hot' his uncle was and how much they wanted to ride the monstrous bike. If they had only known of the terror involved in riding with a driver such as himself.

Sora smiled uneasily and waved a reluctant hand over to him as he walked down the steps. As he walked down, he saw the devil yet again. The taller boy leaned against the light post that rested next to the steps, his arms crossed in waiting, mouth in his constant grin. 'Stupid bitch.'

"Hey Sora," he said as walked towards him. Rai then descended the steps with him, much to Sora's dislike.

"What would _you_ want?" asked the irritated one.

"I don't know, I just thought that maybe you might not know Midgard that well and maybe you wouldn't mind if I showed you around a little later tonight."

"Why the hell would I want to do that?" asked Sora as he stopped his descent, eying him suspiciously. The teen wasn't that shady looking. His hair was a jet black in a silky and choppy long cut that rested on his shoulders. He had a small patch of blue streaks that was dyed in to give him a more untamed and wild edge. His eyes were the most intense brown he'd ever seen. Their shape showed his obvious Asian heritage but the color of his eyes was unusual for that lineage, a soft and light warm brown that hinted to the fact that he was indeed of a mixed parentage.

"I just have nothing to do and I thought 'hey Kisaragi, maybe you should help the poor guy out. Without you, he's not gonna have a life for sure.' So I thought why not?" he explained in a humorous manner. he explained in a humorous manner. The guy was hilarious but he had better things to do that evening, like call up Shell.

Guessing his answer would be that he was busy, he pulled out a pen and grabbed his hand. "Well, if you end up having free time tonight, call me at this number and I'll pick you up myself." With that, he scribbled out his number on the boy's arm. "Think about it okay? Bye."

Sora stood there confusedly. 'What the hell was that? At first that guy was a total asshole to me and now he acts like he wants to be my friend? This has been one big day.' As he made his way to the motorcycle, he saw his uncle now grinning at him. What the hell is it with these people, is it infectious or something? He sighed and hopped on the bike behind him.

"So Sora, who was that?" asked his uncle, revving up the engine. Sora simply grabbed onto his waist and sighed.

"Just some asshole I met at school."

"Well, it seems like he might have an interest in you my cute little nephew," he said. Zack started the bike and they zoomed off towards the condo. What did he mean 'he might have an interest in you?' Its not like he openly hit on me or anything. Maybe his uncle was getting a little too bored at home since he had his week off from duty. They managed to only piss off a few drivers before they made it into the garage of the small complex.

Zack took the chains from the ground and tied them securely around his bike in an archaic fashion. Forget the new little anti-theft devices, this one worked in all situations. No thief would go through so much trouble as to saw through and cut so many thick chains to get to his customized and otherwise not so valuable motorcycle.

Sora on the other hand rolled up his sleeve and looked to see what the demon actually did write. A telephone number was messily scrawled out along the span of his arm and a few hearts were drawn in the corner with the words 'call me' written between them. He blinked in confusion. 'Man, I must have spaced out. I didn't realize her wrote that on me,' he thought as he shoved his sleeve back up. No way was he going to let his uncle see it, he would die laughing and he would probably never hear the end of it.

They rode the elevator up and walked into the condo. Sora walked into his room and tossed his bag into the chair and loosened up his tie. Today was a long day and he would need a rest, a long one. Reaching through his bag, he found the small piece of notebook paper and walked into the hallway. Picking up the cordless, he went back into his room to lay down.

'Should I call her? I mean, would she even be home right now? Maybe we could watch a movie or something.,' he thought as he looked up at the paper he held above his head in contemplation. Deciding to call, he took a deep breath and dialed the number. It rang shortly until it was answered by a deep and sensual masculine voice.

"Hello, this is Ansem Bastion."

Holy crap! This was her overly protective father picking up the phone. If he knew he was some guy wanting to date his daughter, he would have his ass kicked, if not killed. Sora nervously gulped and searched in his dry mouth for the words he desperately needed.

"Um… this is Sora. I was new to the school and uh… is Shell there?" he asked sheepishly. Great first impression. Before he decided to simply give up and say goodbye, he heard the chiming voice of an angel.

"Hello? This is Shell." Thank God and everything that was or could possibly be holy! He didn't get grilled by the seemingly evil father of hers even though he had never met him anyway. He smiled and almost jumped for joy.

"Hey, its me Sora! How are you?"

"Oh, hi Sora! I'm fine, and you?"

The giddy little boy smiled and practically hugged himself in happiness. 'I like meaningless conversations, they have so much… meaning to them,' he thought as he rolled over to his side.

"Oh, I'm great now. Your dad is kind of intimidating you know."

"Oh yeah," she sighed. "But its because he cares. You know how parents are," she said with a slightly annoyed voice.

"Yeah, sometimes they _do_ do the right thing though," he joked, earning a good laugh from the girl.

"So, how are you liking Sector 3. You're from Destiny Islands right? It must be a big adjustment now. Have you been able to go around yet?" she asked curiously. Sora unconsciously scratched the back of his head and chuckled a little. He had only been there for two days and still hadn't had a tour yet. It was pretty sad really.

"Well, not really. I did have that one Rai guy want to take me around but I don't know. I'd rather stay home," he replied. That guy was a mystery in himself. One part bastard and one part an interesting guy. Still, he didn't feel right about him.

"Oh! You know Rai Kisaragi? Really?" She seemed almost eerily excited about that. Who was this guy?

"Why? Is he someone special or anything?"

"You don't know who he is?" she said in shock. Now Sora was really clueless.

"Is he some kind of celebrity or something?"

"Rai Kisaragi is a genius! And really cool at that." Rai? A genius? That annoying little asshole, a _GENIUS_?

"So you're telling me that that annoying moron is a genius?" That was a shocker. How could he have half of a brain with the way he acted. It was almost a shock to him how he actually had the capacity to walk. He remembered in class how the youth just laid his head down and soon began to softly snore during an important lecture. That was after his constant doodling all over the massively wrinkled notebook he had.

"You don't know? Well of course not, it was only your first day anyway. Rai Kisaragi is currently taking senior and college _elite_ classes, the hardest ones to get into and pass, and is only a junior! Cid from mechanics met him when he was working at a secondhand hardware store and called my father to check him out. When my father saw how brilliant he was, he made a few calls and had him immediately sent to this school on a scholarship, all free for whatever he wanted as long as he would join SOLDIER when he graduated. He's totally brilliant!" she said dreamily.

So Rai was a genius. He still was a jerk. And it seemed as if Shell had a crush on him too. That was strike two in his books. The arrogant ass.

"Well, he's still a jerk."

"A jerk? No one's a jerk if he asks to help you get acquainted with Sector 3. It's a pretty huge sector you know, all of them are."

"Yeah, yeah."

"Hey, can I come with you?" Sora blinked for a moment. She wanted to go… with _him_?

"Well, I uh… I wasn't thinking of actually going. I thought I'd rather just relax tonight. Do some homework."

"Come on Sora! I wanna go! They say he likes to frequent some really cool parties and I really would like to see how it's like. Please?" she begged. Sora frowned. He had to give in to that little prick if he ever wanted to get close with Shell, that was for sure. Well, not really, just for his predicament at the moment and that he was never used to having to attract someone on his own, Riku always helped him with that.

"Sure… I'll call him right now," he said, earning a squeal from the girl of his dreams. She said her excited goodbyes and hung up the phone.

* * *

Fate was smiling down at Sora at this time. It truly was a comical decision, he had fallen into the classic male dilemma. It was simple, guy likes girl, guy hates guy, guy must be nice to guy to get girl to like him, girl might end up liking other guy with original guy falling down flat, both laugh at guy.

"Hello?" asked a rather sleepy sounding male voice. The boy must have obviously been in the middle of a nap.

"Hi… this is Sora."

"Sora?" he asked, pausing for a moment that could be presumed as thought. "Sora… Sora… Oh yeah! I know, the newbie. Yeah. What's up?"

'Newbie? What kind of a dumb nickname was that?' the boy thought as he bit his lip on the other side of the phone. This was going to be some serious sucking up pride, or something. He really didn't feel like doing this anymore. But somehow his body kept forcing him to talk until the point where he said that he accepted the invitation for a tour.

"Oh really?" said Rai huskily with the sound of movement shortly afterward, probably him rolling to his side. The sound of a long and loud yawn could be heard, then a sigh. "Sure then. I'll pick you up in an hour. But be appropriately dressed. There's a party tonight that I think you might like."

"Oh…" Sora started, biting his lip yet again. How was he going to tell him that Shell was going too? And saying it like _he _was the one who invited her and not herself.

"What? You don't like parties?"

"No, that's not it. It's just that I kind of invited my friend Shell to come along too."

The line quieted for a minute and then a tired groan. "Fine… I'll meet the both of you at the Kigan Statue in Sector 2 in one hour on the dot. Don't be late." He sounded angry when he said that, more annoyed than anything. Did he not like Shell or something? What was his problem with her anyway? Before Sora could ask these questions, the annoyed boy hung up the phone abruptly.

Shrugging it off for another time, Sora shortly called Shell and told her the news. Of course she was excited and got off of the phone right away to get ready. This left Sora alone for a while.

"What to wear? What to wear? Something cool right?" he thought aloud as he pulled open his still fairly barren dresser. There were a good amount of fairly decent shirts and jeans but nothing really seemed to scream out to him. Maybe he could wear the serpent one with the bright green graffiti on a midnight blue shirt. Or even the simple red button up one that Riku gave him for his birthday with a white cross with raven's wings on the collar. Yes, that would be more suitable. Taking that shirt, a pair of black jeans, and his appropriate undergarments, he took his shower and got dressed.

His uncle happened to walk by as Sora was combing his hair in the bathroom. He peeked in a curious head and then grinned.

"Your first day and you already have a date? You work quick," said the sable human hedgehog, laughing a little. Sora simply glared in a childlike manner and pouted.

"Shut up! Its not a date. A friend of mine offered to take me around to get me acquainted with Midgard and there's a party we're gonna go to on the way," he said as he returned to fixing his hair to be just right. Zack left and came back with a long black silk tie. Without a word, he promptly spun Sora to face him and began to tie it on him.

"This'll make it look a whole lot better. Geesh, glad you're not my kid. At least_ someone_ should have showed you how to dress," said Zack as he made the final adjustments. It did look better, he looked dark, demanding attention and respect, something that Sora seriously lacked in both departments.

Sora smiled as Zack gave the thumbs up. No matter how much of an annoyingly bad driver he was and how moody he could get, he still was a pretty cool uncle. Well, right now at least while he still was in the happiness that he looked particularly ravishing, not really knowing if it was good or bad.

It was a half an hour until he heard the doorbell ring. "I've got it Sora!" yelled his uncle as he casually strolled to the door. The young girl in a coral summer dress and white sweater smiled and wrung her hands nervously. This wasn't the young man he had seen his nephew with the other day. He was going on a "date" date? Zack eyed her confusedly and leaned against the doorway.

"May I help you?" he asked. She shifted her eyes nervously inside of the condo and then back at him.

'I must have come to the wrong door. What do I do now?' she thought nervously. She had two options, stand her ground, or run away scared at the behemoth standing threateningly in front of her.

"Shell! Hey!" called her savior. He was ecstatic to see her, beyond words. Maybe, he was a bit too giddy. But he batted his uncle away and stood in front of her with a big grin.

"Oh Sora! Let's go. My dad's car is out on the curb," she said happily as she linked arms with him and proceeded to gently drag him off. He blushed and looked back nervously to his uncle. Getting his message, Zack tossed Sora his cell and waved before closing the door.

'That girl is going to be a handful,' his uncle thought as he tossed himself onto the comfy leather couch and watched turned back to the Blitzball game.

* * *

The young brunette sat in the black luxury car. 'I didn't know that Shell's parents were that rich,' he thought as he leaned back into the blond leather seating. The aforementioned girl turned to him and tried to begin a conversation.

"I'm so nervous. I think this was a bad idea. I don't even know him," she said while wringing her hands. Well, it was a little late to figure that out. That was what the real Sora would have said. But this version was a lot weirder and more awkward.

"Don't worry about it anyway. I'll be with you right. And worse comes to worse, I'll just take you somewhere else and we could watch a movie or something," he said while biting back a blush.

"But you don't know where the movies are. That is the reason you are on a tour anyway," she said with a giggle. He blinked and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Oh yeah huh?" he said stupidly. "By the way Shell, how far away is Sector 2?"

"Well, from where we started, its about a half an hour drive in good traffic crossing. The Sectors are pretty big, the whole of Midgar used to be eight separate villages you know."

"Really?"

"Yeah! Then ShinRa came and built over it, making it the Midgard of today."

They continued chatting until they had finally made it to the Kigan Statue. It was huge, a bronze figure of a tall woman with a book in one hand and a torch in the other. Her short hair rested in curls to her chin, gentle eyes gazing outward over her book which was titled 'Amore.'

A slightly taller young man leaned against the base of the statue, gazing in its same direction. His shoulder length jet black hair was tied back, a few stray bangs brushing against his face. He looked to be contemplating something deep, something complex and mysterious. But with Sora's strongly held notion that he was still a 'devilish tard,' it seemed very unlikely to him.

"Hey!" called Shell as she waved her hands enthusiastically. The asian youth looked up to their direction and waved slowly, seeming to still be in his thinking state. They lightly jogged across the cobblestone street to him. Sora eyed his appearance.

"What's up with the eight balls?" he asked, gesturing to Rai's attire. He had been wearing a long-sleeved softball tee with black sleeves and an eight ball design with the words 'Lucky Eight' on it. Also, from the mass of chains hanging from the left side of his jeans was a miniature replica of the ever so cliché magic eight ball. Rai looked at himself and laughed a little.

"Well, they are my favorite things. It actually works too. Isn't that cool?" said Kisaragi, taking the small ball and shaking it, making a quick and silent wish. The oddly cut shape floating in the sphere of blue liquid turned to tell his answer. "Outlook not so good? What the hell is that?"

"What did you wish for?" asked the coral covered girl. Rai simply shrugged and threw his arms behind his head.

"Nothing really. Lets go everyone."

"Wait. But aren't we going to see Sector 3 too?" asked Sora. They had left the third sector and now he was even more completely lost. Maybe this wasn't a good idea. But Shell was so cute, hew couldn't resist. The other boy looked to him with an eyebrow raised and grinned.

"That, my friend, I'll show you later. Tonight is a party!"

* * *

A/N: Hey, I had to stop the chapter abruptly here. Hope you like it. I know, its long. But the next chapter will be even better. I know, this story is starting off slow, but it will pick up soon, I promise. And feel free to review and even recommend any changes. I like those! Well, hope you enjoyed this. See you soon! 


	3. Hidden Feelings

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Square Enix and Disney does. I do, however, own the original characters like Sira Lockheart, Shell Bastion, and the ever so sexy Rai Kisaragi.

A/N: I have been pretty, well, dull lately. It kind of sucks thinking you didn't care about someone but then realizing that you really do care about them. And even worse is when 'things' keep getting in your way from being their friend. That's all I want! Not like I want to fuck them or anything! Insolent shrew. Well anyway, I will hopefully delve into Sora's issues with the accident and also with Rai's past. Maybe some other things will be addressed later, who knows. All I know is that I will be getting to the Sora x Riku soon. Until then, the plot shall build. Enjoy!

P.S. If you know who and what I'm talking about, it's true. It sucks.

* * *

Promise Me Mortality

* * *

"_I see you remember me."_

"_I'd remember Satan if I saw him."_

* * *

Chapter 3: Hidden Feelings

'What am I doing here?' thought Sora as he looked up to the stars. They were dull in this overly bright city and not as clear as when he was at home. So far, the three of them had covered a good section of the busy downtown scene of Sector 2. Well it was different, the air was thicker, harder to breathe, and the noises were a lot… noisier. How could people figure out how to sleep in this place? He was beginning to have a massive and dizzying headache.

But Shell was so beautiful, sitting in the black park bench next to him, her soft head resting against his already tilted shoulder. Her warm hands rested neatly in her lap as she lightly dozed, the soothing magenta neon lights bathing her in a gorgeous glow. Luckily he was tired because if he had the energy, he would have kissed her in her beautiful state.

Rai walked back to them with a bored expression. "Seems she's too tired to get through to the party. Too bad," he said unsympathetically. He then sighed and crashed onto the bench next to them. Leaning forward, he leaned against his arms on his legs and peered down at the equally cold mosaic sidewalk. Contemplating for a moment, his voice softened as he searched through his deep pockets for his cell phone.

"You should call Ansem. He'll send someone to pick you two up." Sora eyed the gesture and the smiled, receiving it. He supposed that there was some kind of good in all kinds of people and this was one of his moments. "Just go through the phonebook."

Following his directions, he went through the directory and found the first contact. Ansem Bastion. Her father picked up the receiver and agreed to send someone immediately to pick up the sleeping beauty. Ending the conversation, he gave back the phone with a small thank you.

The rest of the wait was in silence. They both had the awkward feeling of not knowing what to say to the other, some with more reason to. So Sora did the one thing he felt comfortable in doing, looking up at the stars. They were twinkling weakly in the sky, but still maintained the fact that they were still there, that they didn't have any intention to leave no matter how bright the city lights could be.

He looked over to the contemplating Rai. The youth now confused him even more than before. When they had first met that morning, he had been an impulsive jerk, jabbing at him like a dead animal with a stick. But tonight, he really had fun. It was a blast. They first went to a few museums, then to the coffee shop where he learned that Bulban coffee wasn't the best thing to have when you wanted to keep your cool. After their hyper attacks, they then went to the Traverse Mall and dressed each other up in ridiculous outfits. They then talked about simple things while eating some of the specialty pizza of East Midgard. That was when they crashed at the bench.

Sora smiled as watched the youth still think intently. Shortly, he realized that he was being watched and practically jumped out of his skin.

"What the hell are you looking at me for?" he yelled, clutching at his panicked heart. The other boy laughed heartily as he kept replaying the look on his face.

"You seemed so focused on something. It was pretty amusing," he explained between his fits of laughter. Rai frowned childishly and pouted. 'Real tough guy.'

"Well don't look at me like that. You scared the hell out of me," said Kisaragi, trying to regain his composure. Sora simply smiled and looked up to the stars.

"How do you know Shell's dad?"

"Who?" he asked, leaning back in the bench to look up at the stars with him. He never really noticed them and smiled at their beauty.

"Ansem."

"Oh. Well, he's the reason why I was able to go to this school."

"Really?"

"Yeah. It was back when I had finished my first year living here. I was homeless and had nothing but the job at a rundown hardware shop. The owner was going to close down the store so I figured I could live there until they finally decide to tear it down for a smoothie shop or something."

Sora looked over to his companion with concern. He had never known that Rai used to be homeless. How had he managed for a whole year without a stable place to live or a secure food source? He couldn't even imagine not being able to have a place to call home or at least a warm house.

"Where did you sleep?"

Kisaragi smirked and his skyward gaze deepening.

"Well, I lived in many different places. First, it was the mall. I'd hide in the stalls and pretend I was sick if they ever caught me. Then they would just tell me to hurry it up and leave. Then I lived the library. That was pretty easy but one time I was caught and they took me to jail for a few days as a repeat offender. So that was another place too. But the worst I had to say was when I lived in a brothel."

The brunette's eyes flashed over to the other boy in shock. Rai smiled bitterly, sadness in his eyes.

"I was really sick back then. It was really bad and I knew I wouldn't make it if I didn't find help soon. A woman took pity on me and told me to follow her to the brothel. There, I could stay as long as I wanted and they would feed me, give me the medicine I needed, and a warm place to stay."

He then spat out the last few words.

"But I had to work."

The thoughts of what he could possibly mean by that made Sora feel sicker. How could someone put him under those conditions? Where were his parents? Wasn't there any family to take care of him when he needed them the most?

A sleek black car pulled up next to them on the curb and the window rolled down electronically. An elegant white haired man with a bright orange eyes looked out to the party on the bench. Frowning, the man quickly got out of his car and walked over to the group.

"I see you took care of her Kisaragi," said the man as he gracefully picked up Shell and cradled her in his arms.

"She just was worn out and she was napping here sir. Totally harmless," said Rai as he stood up respectfully. The man nodded and glared over to the confused brunette still sitting at the bench.

"And who is this?" asked the man. His voice was very sensual but still had the icy edge that could kill a man if he felt like it. Sora quickly stood up flustered and bowed slightly, as Rai had.

"My name is Sora Strife sir," he said, trying to remember all of the manners that his parents had taught him. The man in front of him smiled cruelly and walked his daughter to the car. Rai walked over quickly and gently opened the passenger door in the back. Nodding approvingly to him, the man gently laid Shell into the backseat of the car. Getting into his car, he gave a final nod goodbye and sped his car out and down the street.

Rai sighed in relief and grinned back to Sora. "That was Ansem."

"Oh really? What's his problem?" Sora asked arms crossed.

"Well, he is very influential in the academy; also, he has real problems with men being around his daughter. You know, the protective type."

"Well that Ansem guy was my ride home," pouted Sora, glaring down the street. He just had the nerve to not even offer a ride back to Sector 3 at least.

Rai blinked in confusion and looked sharply back at the direction that Ansem had driven off. By the time they would be able to reach them, they would already be at their house in Sector 3 and he definitely wouldn't drive all the way back just to pick up Sora. He was screwed.

"Well, it's late and I don't think it would be a good idea to drop you off back home in the middle of the night," said Rai, shuffling through his pockets. He pulled out his keys and started to walk away.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Sora asked, trying to keep up with his long strides. The other boy grinned to him mischievously.

"Just follow me. You can stay at my place." His place? Where the hell was that? The brunette soon began to feel that it would have been best to just drop him off at his own house after all. Sure his uncle would be thoroughly pissed off that he woke him up to let him in. But it wasn't his fault that Zack slept in until the key shop was closed. His uncle could be really irresponsible, and this was only his second day of staying there!

They began to walk into a dark side alley, quickly stepping over random boxes and stale alcohol bottles. 'That's it, I'm gonna get raped. Someone's gonna come out from a corner and tackle me down, I swear," thought Sora as he kept closer with Rai. The taller youth then grabbed his hand as he led him into an increasingly dark passage.

"Where the hell are we going?" Sora whispered sharply. The other remained silent as they blindly made their way. It seemed like forever until Rai suddenly stopped. Knocking into him, Sora squinted his eyes, trying to catch any light he could. Then suddenly, with the fiddle of some keys, it was bright.

It was a motorcycle, another one of those accursed things. But it wasn't as monstrous as his uncle's model. Rather, it was smooth and sleek with most of its parts covered in bright electric blue casing. On the side of it was another of Rai's trademark eight balls painted into it within a blood red rose with the words 'Lucky Eight' in cursive lettering over it. This one was easier on the eyes.

Rai then mounted it and revved it up a little, sounding like a strong tiger's purring throughout it. He motioned to the excess of seating behind him.

"Hop on, I'll give you a ride to my place," he said with a grin. Sora eyed the vehicle one more time and reluctantly walked over to it, taking the matching blue helmet from his hands. Putting it on was a bit difficult since his massive amount of unruly hair fanned out all over in his face, making him have to meticulously sort them out so that he could see properly.

He then swung his leg uneasily over the bike and loosely wrapped his arms around the boy's waist.

"You have to get closer than that or else you'll fall off." Sora glared daggers behind his back and clenched his teeth. What kind of sick fuck was he? He was probably enjoying this? Sadly enough, Sora didn't realize how right he was. Sighing heavily, he scooted closer and clung onto him. As soon as he did, they sped quickly around the corner, down the garbage-ridden alleyway and out onto the street.

'Yet again, what am I doing here?'

* * *

The next morning, the sun shone brightly in through the windows as he slept almost sinfully. It was so comfortable lying under the billowy blankets that he snuggled deeper into them and refused the morning for a few more minutes. The faint sounds of a shower could be heard in the distance as he shut his eyes tighter. Who was taking a shower this early in the morning? Normally Zack was still knocked out at this time and he would have to douse him with ice water to wake him up.

Groaning, Sora turned over and tossed the comforter over his head, bringing him back into dark serenity. The shower stopped and he could hear the rustling of what he assumed to be a shower curtain and then the clearing of someone's throat.

"God, hurry the hell up so I can get back to sleep," moaned Sora as he buried his face into his pillow. Zack was definitely going to pay when he got out. The door slowly screeched open and he could hear approaching footsteps. They walked into the room and sat on the bed, humming to themselves.

His uncle then leaned over and soothingly rubbed his back. "Wake up sleepy head. It's late."

"Oh really Zack I wouldn't have-" Sora stopped in mid sentence. When he had angrily forced the covers from his head, his vision of his uncle quickly disappeared to show the true intruder's form. His eyes widened as he then looked around the room. It wasn't his. Instead of the neutral blue walls that he associated with his room, these walls were a rich navy color instead. And the room was a bit smaller, but featured a personal bathroom inside.

"Where the hell am I? What did you do to me?" Sora ranted as he pulled the covers closer to him, checking to feel if there had been any 'foul play.' Rai simply raised an eyebrow and then burst into laughter. This caused the other to glare, recoiling into the pillows. "What's so funny?"

"You honestly think that I would take you to my home to rape you?" he asked between fits of laughter.

"So? I wouldn't expect less from someone who wakes me up wearing nothing but a towel around his waist."

Rai eyed his appearance confusedly and laughed again.

"I took a shower you idiot. Normal people like to take them in the nude," he said with a smirk, his eyes alight in playfulness behind the long strands of his still damp hair.

"Makes it even more suspicious."

"Well," he began, shrugging as he stood up, walking to his armoire. "If you were so worried about that, you shouldn't have fallen asleep on your way here."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, let's just say that you almost killed the both of us when you suddenly conked out behind me and made my bike almost skid off to the left in an illegal turn."

Sora reddened and sunk deeper into the mass of blankets in embarrassment. This only caused more laughter from the younger man.

"Now, unless you want to watch me get naked, I have to dress." This made Sora even redder.

"Why don't you just go into the bathroom and change?"

"Well, it's all damp and hot in there. And besides, this is my apartment so you have to do what I say."

With an annoyed groan, Sora turned over and laid on his stomach, covering his head with the pillows. 'This was great. I'm stuck at this asshole's house, real fun. I just hope I can get home to go to bed. I'm still so tired,' he thought as he heard the sounds of fabric moving over skin and the rough crinkle of jeans.

"You can look now," said Rai as he leaned back on the bed next to him. Sora rolled back onto his stomach and sighed contemplatively. "What's wrong?" asked the younger.

"I just need my medicine," lied Sora. It was a small lie but one nonetheless.

"Why, for mental issues?"

"I guess you could say that."

Silence prevailed for a while as Sora continued to look up at the ceiling. School should have been happening right now, probably at his second class. He, however, didn't care and was more willing to lie in Rai's comfy bedding than go to see that many people. The excitement of a new life lost its shine to him and he began to rather want his old life back on the island, with his parents, Kairi, Tidus, Wakka, and Riku.

He casually looked to the side to see warm brown eyes peering at him.

"What do you want?" he asked, looking back to the ceiling emotionless.

"Jeez, some people can be so approachable at one moment and act so… how do I say it?" thought Kisaragi as he looked up in thought. "I've got it! Like a total bitch."

The other gasped and pouted at him, blue eyes glaring.

"How the hell am _I_ the bitch? You're more of a woman than I am! Look at the hair!" exclaimed Sora as he continued his ice cold glare.

"I don't think so, you do have those very sexy hips of yours," said the other as he moved closer to Sora, biting his lip suggestively. The victim scooted away nervously, starting a soft blush upon his cheeks. This wasn't good, definitely not good. Soon the other boy was over him, a firm hand on his shoulder as he pinned him down into the mattress.

His look was purely predatory, causing Sora to become even more nervous. But somehow, his hands just didn't have the strength to push him off as they simply rested on his broad shoulders instead. 'Damn it, I really need my medicine.'

Rai's smooth thumb rubbed against Sora's downy lower lip as he watched the trail with intense almond eyes.

"And those pink lips of yours," he continued. At this, the brunette found all of the strength within him, before the other could successfully capture his lips with his own, and shoved him off of him, making him bounce off of the edge of the bed and land in a heap on the floor. He quickly pulled the covers around him yet again and tried to hide his furious bright red blush.

Then, he heard laughing. He was laughing at him! A pair of milky arms heaved onto the bed as he could see a silky black head of hair shaking in a fit of laughter.

"You should have seen your face!" squawked Rai as he slowly and painfully pulled himself halfway onto the bed as he laid on his back, holding his sides with a large and toothy grin on his face. This infuriated Sora more as he tossed the covers off, perfectly landing on the boy's face, muddling up his fit of hysterics. Seeing his bag on the chair next to the window, he grabbed it and walked his way out the bedroom door.

* * *

The weeks went by and he had managed to survive it all. He now had a group to hang out with after school composed of Shell, Yuna, and Selphie. Basically, he had been only approached by girls, all of whom thought he was the most adorable thing on the planet. It was okay to him, as long as Shell liked him, he was okay.

Well, he had learned a few days ago that she really did like him and, with Selphie's help, they started going out. On their first date, it was magical, well, kind of. They were only taking a walk across The Yard as the large stretch of green behind the school was called. But at night, with the stars up in the sky and a warm basket of food she had prepared earlier, it was great.

That night was last night and he slept in like a dog and Zack vouched for him to come to school late. Walking down the halls, he spotted Rai walking his way to class, at the same spot as usual. Smiling happily, the brunette waved, shortly calling out his name. The other boy looked to him casually and then proceeded down the hall past him, ignoring him.

Sora simply stood there confusedly. 'What's _his_ problem? Normally he's always so eager to talk to me. Maybe something happened between him and Reno again.' Rai wasn't the type of person to hang out with the group that he did. They were the rebels of the school, ones that were pretty popular and that all of the girls enjoyed swooning over. Who couldn't blame them living in an uptight and reserved school such as this?

Looking back at the direction of his troubled friend, he sighed and continued his walk to class. 'I'll make sure to talk to him at lunch.'

It was Al Bhed and quite an interesting class. Apparently the general population didn't really like the group of 'thieves and pirates' as they were called. However, he had learned that they hated the Wutai the most. He had heard a long time ago about them when Sephiroth would rant how the Wutai rebels didn't appreciate what ShinRa were doing for them. It was something that he never paid attention to before so he didn't really care about it now.

For the rest of the class period he dazed off, thinking about what could possibly be irking Rai. 'Well, maybe he could have had another fight with Seymour Guado. That guy _could _really be a jerk, thinking he was the moon and the sun,' he thought as he shivered at the thought of the blue-haired menace. But to the boy, nothing like that should trouble him that much. No matter how childish or seemingly slow he could seem, there was nothing that Seymour could presently say that could make his friend even flinch.

"Hey kid," sharply whispered the red-head behind him. That was Reno. He was a junior like him and the prankster of the group. Many of the girls loved him and rumor was that he even had male admirers as well. No one really talked about homosexuality at this school though; it was something that was considered immoral and even sinful.

Sora turned to the side in his desk. "What?" he asked curiously as he settled himself in his new position.

"Rai's acting different," Reno stated blatantly. Sora blinked at the comment and nodded is head.

"Yeah, I know. He didn't say 'hi' to me or anything when I saw him walk by."

"What did you do to him?"

"What! I didn't do anything! I thought he had a fight with _you_!" yelled Sora taken aback.

Eyebrow raised, Reno leaned back in his desk, folding his arms behind his head. Sora never had to wonder why Rai hung out with him as the red-head stretched out his legs, knocking over his neatly-placed sidebag. Glaring at him, he picked up his fallen parcel and sat it on the other side of the desk, far from leg reach.

"Oh well," said Reno as he closed his eyes for his every class nap. The lazy bum, another thing Rai had in common with him.

Too bad Reno wasn't nearly as smart as his friend so his grades reflected on it. Sora sighed and opened his book. The language was really tricky, something that he really didn't like. He'd rather learn Wutai like he used to but it wasn't a well liked language in Midgard.

* * *

At lunch, Sora decided to confront Rai about his sudden change in mood. Even though he had known him for only a short time, he was close to him, one of the few people who actually looked out for him.

'So I guess he should be at his locker now, since the bell had just rung. Hopefully he'll be there,' thought Sora as he rushed out of his classroom and down the hall. Looking down both sides of the hall, he charged down the glass corridor, moving quickly through crowds of chatting people. When he rounded the corner, he was grabbed by the wrist and dragged down a different direction.

"Come with me."

The taller teen then led him down the hall and into an empty classroom, the psychology room. It was creepy enough, just a large room filled with shelves upon shelves upon shelves of books, all dark and seemingly old. They ranged in titles from 'Martinus Relation of Theory,' to 'Darkness and its Effects on Human Thought,' to 'Breaking Points in Human Thoughts.' The desks all were set along the sides of the room with chairs arranged around. It all seemed like a small drab library, a study hall of sorts for any kind of dark research that he could possibly imagine.

Rai shut the door behind them and pulled out a chair before deciding to sit on the desk. His face seemed disturbed, or worried, or distressed, something was wrong with him. He sighed and folded his arms, watching the shadows play on the gray tile.

"I'm worried about you," said Sora as he looked at the old fashioned reading lamp on what he presumed to be the teacher's desk. "What's wrong Rai? You normally don't act so down."

There was a long pause as the older boy waited for an answer. Normally, he would quickly reply with something cocky or some kind of smart remarks that would make him want to pull is own hair out. However, he had no reply like that.

"Tell me what's wrong. If there's anything I can do, just tell me and I'll help you."

"An assassin came after me last night."

"Wait, what did you say?"

Rai bit his lip as he glared at the ground bitterly. Something really was wrong. An assassin… after _Rai_? How could that be possible? He was just a normal guy right?

"Look, I don't think you should be around me anymore."

"Rai…" started Sora. Why was this happening now?

"Just don't come near me. I…"

"Why Rai? If you're in trouble, I'm not gonna leave you," said Sora with a look of concern in his eyes. Rai looked away from him sadly and leaned against the table. Walking over to the table next to his troubled friend, the older teen rested his hand on the other's shoulder comfortingly. "Tell me what's wrong. I'll understand."

"You can't possibly understand what I'm going through," he said before straightening up. "I just wanted to tell you that we can't associate with each other anymore."

"Why not? Is that what you really want? Tell me what's going on!" yelled Sora. It was all a stab to the heart. Rai was a close friend to him, someone he relied on in this still new school. And what was worse was that he had the feeling that it wasn't something as simple as concern for him that made Rai act so different. The person that he had come to know was at least kind enough to explain his actions.

"I don't want you to get hurt. I don't want them to come after you!" He could tell it in his eyes that Rai was panicking, a sense of terror that seemed to rack his body, making him shake uncontrollably.

"You don't want _who_ to come after you? Tell me damn it! What's wrong with you?"

Sighing, the taller boy averted his gaze from his friend's soft blue eyes to the flooring at the side of him. He was stalling, but why, he didn't know. What was his big secret that he was trying to keep from him? Why did he _want_ to keep a secret from him? It was all so confusing. What had Rai done to make an assassin want him dead for? Was he _that_ important?

"I'm a high risk enemy of the Wutai, the nation ShinRa is trying to modernize."

"ShinRa?"

"Yes, they are the mega-corporation that dominates Midgard and its military. It's the same military that I'm to be signed into in SOLDIER when I graduate from this hell hole."

"So, are you okay?"

Rai gave a big laugh at this statement and grinned sadistically.

"Oh yes, I'm perfectly fine indeed! I returned to my apartment to find a ninja crawling through my things before she almost killed me. Then I had to run over to Ansem's to then spend the night in the military encampment. It was the best night of my life, among other things."

"Don't worry Rai; if you talk to the police I'm sure that they'll-"

"Don't you think that they already know? And they can't do anything about it, not the police, not the military, no one!"

"Well what are we supposed to do!"

"Do nothing, just leave me alone!" yelled Kisaragi before he made his way to storm out of the room. Sora grabbed his wrist in an attempt to hold him back. "Let… me… go," he said slowly in a frustrated rage, his whole body quaking so much that Sora thought he could very well collapse. Heaving a frustrated sigh, the older boy pulled him back to face him with a look of sternness.

"I'm not gonna let you go, not yet." Grabbing his other arm, he held both hands in a firm grip. "We need each other Rai; you need me as much as I needed you. I don't care if some damn assassin comes after me because I know you need my help."

Rai looked to the side nervously; he probably wasn't used to anyone being so close to him on their own will, at least with pure intentions. But it appeared as if he was listening because his eyes seemed to glaze over in thought like he usually did. This tugged a smile at Sora's lips; he was getting to him, underneath his shell.

"Rai, I know what it feels like to be alone. I know how it feels when the one person who could have possibly helped you just leaves you out in the cold." He felt his friend's gaze of concern, he had his full attention. "When the accident happened, I was so… lost. Lost in myself, in the fact that I lost he girlfriend that I loved since we were little, lost that I no longer had a father who always took care of us and loved my mother and I more than himself."

It was silent for a while as Sora bit back tears, remembering that day when they were driving on the coastline highway and skidded into an incoming car. They were only supposed to go to a party, a simple birthday party for one of Kairi's friends. He could remember how he had yelled at her for being late; she just wanted to wear the right dress with her new shoes that her father had bought her. His mother had even told them they couldn't go because it was a storm going on and it was dangerous. But his dad insisted that they go so they could have a little fun. 'Let them live a little Aeris. And besides I've gone through typhoons that way and I'm still here.'

"I always had the question, 'why me? Why did I have to be the only one who lived? Why couldn't it have been Kairi, or Dad?'" he sniffed as he focused his eyes onto the floor. "I was afraid of what everyone would think, how they would blame me for the whole thing happening, but I knew that I had Riku and, as long as he stuck with me, everything would be alright."

He then felt the warmth of his friend's shirt on his shoulder as he started to cry. He had been betrayed, when he needed him the most, Riku wasn't there. His best friend since birth wasn't there to cheer him up and make him feel better. That was the real reason why he had to leave, he was truly alone.

Rai simply held him as the other boy cried out his tears and frustration. He himself had never known the intensity of Sora's problems. In his eyes, it seemed as if he was the typical teenager, a little angsty but mostly happy and carefree. Rubbing his back, he let him empty out all of his tears on his shoulders, thoroughly dampening his shirt.

"I won't leave you."

* * *

Sora grabbed his overnight bag as he looked in his room for his last few things that he might have wanted to bring. There was nothing else that really had caught his eye except for one thing. The small blood red velvet box sat on his nightstand, the black satin ribbon neatly folded next to it. It was Riku's gift to him before he left, its contents still a mystery. Every time he had tried to open it, something always happened to prevent him from doing so. Not today. If he had to even walk with it to see what it was, so be it.

Sitting down on his soft bed, he gently grasped the box into his hand, looking at it nervously. He never understood why he was so nervous about a simple present from Riku; after all, he had a million gifts from him in his eyes. Laughing at his potential lunacy, he started to open the box, its hinges creaking before flying open.

He looked at it with unease, nervousness, and shock all in one. It wasn't a very Riku-like present, not one bit.

It had gleamed up at him in all of its white gold glory. It was a ring, a very good-looking one at that too. It was a simple one with a masculine but thin band. Another length of white gold wrapped around it in a winding fashion. A pair of wings spread across it with a diamond shaped blue jewel in the middle, sparkling brilliantly.

"Wow, pretty awesome," he said as he gently plucked it out of the holder, displaying it to the light. The glimmers twinkled in his eyes as he looked the jewel over. It was a soft royal blue at first but then it changed at certain angles with the light to a soft sea green, Riku's favorite color. It was the most beautiful gem that he had ever seen.

Trying it on, he finally found a fit on his left ring finger and held his hand in front of him. It fit perfectly, his hand, his personality, everything. Most of all, it reminded him of Riku. It was so elaborate and exquisite but still so simple and subtle deep down that it was pleasing to any eye.

Before he could dwell on Riku or his gift anymore, the phone rang, blasting him out of his reverie. Sighing, he placed the box onto its original spot on the nightstand and hopped off of the bed, eyes still fixed at his new present. His uncle stood outside of his door, phone in hand.

"Sora, phone for you. Some Rai guy I think."

Grabbing it from him, he shoved it onto his shoulder as he wandered back into his room. His bag was already packed and there was nothing else he felt that he needed to bring with him. 'It is only going to be a few days, nothing more right?' he thought as he answered the phone.

"Hey Sora. I'm outside of your complex right now. Do you have everything?" asked the calm voice of his friend. Tonight he was going to spent a few nights with Rai in another place of town. Rai had insisted that he go alone in case that the assassin might come after him again but Sora felt it would be better to go together, safety in groups no matter how small they really were.

"Yeah, I think so. My uniforms, after school clothes, toiletries, a few movies, money, cell phone, my backpack. Yup, I've got it."

"Good, I'll meet you downstairs right now," he said before he hung up.

Rushing to the door excitedly, he checked everything one more time. His uncle came up beside him and took his overnight bag.

"I'll take this for you."

"Thanks Zack."

Zack then looked at Sora with concern. Even though they weren't related, Sora was still like a nephew to him and, even more so as the days went by, like the son that he truly wanted to have. He didn't agree with the whole plan of letting him go to some seminar for school way out in Sector 2 but if it was for his grade, he guessed it would be alright. And Ansem himself called to tell him that it was alright.

They continued out of the condo and down to the elevator, each second filled with anxiety on both parts. Right outside of the elevator was Rai leaning against his motorcycle, looking at his nails. Upon seeing the two, more at the sight of Sora, he grinned and walked over quickly, taking his sidebag and putting it on himself.

"Now you're going to be safe right?" said Zack in more of a stern command than a request. Sora raised an eyebrow at his tone. He'd never heard his uncle, of all people, have so much authority in his voice. Sure he _was_ in SOLDIER but that didn't mean that he really acted the part at home or off duty. And he wasn't one to say anything about driving safety. There wasn't a day yet that he didn't cut someone off, go through incoming traffic _intentionally_, or even stay on the street and not try to get anyone killed.

Rai simply bowed slightly in respect and swore that he would. This whole exchange left Sora surprised. Ignoring how much of an asshole that Rai could be, he also had a polite streak in him, one that he had only started seeing more recently. The both of them, Rai and his uncle, both had shown sides that he never could have even dreamed of, making him respect them more, if that could be possible. Zack had helped give him the new life that he had and Rai helped him cherish it.

Blushing at how sappy his thoughts were getting, he fiddled with the end of his t-shirt impatiently. When the two had made their last respects to each other, Rai led the dazed off boy by the shoulder to his motorcycle. Snapping out of his reverie, Sora fastened his overnight bag's strap over his shoulder more securely, resting it against his neck. They then both hopped on and sped off into the distance.

* * *

The house seemed empty, it always was. Even with his mother wanting to practice her kickboxing with him and his father always muddling over ancient books on ancient races, the one that he claimed they were from, it still felt lonely. Well it was. It had been over a full month since that night with Sora, the night before he moved to the megalopolis Midgard.

Everyday he feared what could possible happen to him there. His best friend, the one he knew before birth, was out there in that big city. He was out there without anyone to take care of him, to help him meet new people, to protect him when he was in remote danger. Most of all, in his eyes, Sora was alone without anyone there to love him like he could.

It was a feeling that had confused Riku for a long time. Since they were small, he always felt for Sora as his second half, two pieces to their central being, strong and wonderful. Whenever they were apart, Riku would have fits and was cold and distant, not wanting to acknowledge the existence of anyone and anything else until his companion was back at his side.

As they grew up, Riku began getting used to the fact that for certain hours of the day, they couldn't be together and if he wanted to continue school with him. So he sucked it all up for Sora's sake and behaved when society needed it. And each year, the distance between each time they could see each other became farther and farther away until he had only a few one hour classes with him and their half hour lunch period. Because of this, Riku then began to cherish their time together even more to the point that he would sometimes shut out their other friends to fill himself up to the brim with Sora's essence so he could last the rest of the day.

Because of this, he realized his most shocking secret. As each day passed by, he realized how much he enjoyed when his friend laughed, and how much he loved the perfect blue of his eyes. Even the way he smelled or how soft his skin slowly began to come to his attention. When he decided to date women, many of the things he liked in them were things that reminded him of Sora.

When he realized that he was infatuated with is best friend, it sickened him. He was obsessed with his _male_ best friend, even to the point where the things that turned him on with women were if they felt like him, or smelled like him, or even cooed out his name like he had imagined Sora would do in his awkward fantasies. It was something that was shameful to him; he was objectifying his best friend who was so pure and innocent that he probably couldn't even understand someone doing such a thing.

He then became more distant, trying to find women that were so opposite of Sora that he couldn't find any trace of his friend in them. Filling himself up with easy women, he felt even more ashamed and perverse. Ever so slowly, he came to understand that he loved his friend. He had truly loved Sora and his smiles, his blushes when he was flustered or embarrassed, how socially awkward he was, and how he always felt triumphant when he would beat Riku at a game. He loved him with all his heart and it was something that always brightened up his days whenever he thought of it.

Laying on his bed, he looked up at the ceiling to see the numerous scribbles in crayon and marker. They made them together when they were young; playing like children did when they felt they could get in trouble with it. The drawings went down the walls as they made a zoo-like trail of bunnies, penguins, tigers, and horse-dogs. Whenever he felt lonely, he would sit in his room and look at them and remember their childhood.

"_Kiku?" asked a younger Sora, about twelve-years-old. They were drawing on the walls like they normally did, the blue-eyed boy making his second bunny. Even at their age, they still loved to draw on the walls as their favorite pastime, trying to better the old drawings that they had started with when they were smaller._

"_What Sora?" asked his friend eloquently for a child his age._

"_What's kissing like?"_

_This question took Riku aback. What was kissing like? It was something that people did when they loved each other; at least that was what his mother had told him before .But that information was stale from when he was four and saw his mother kissing his father sweetly. _

_He blushed at the inquiry and focused more on his drawing. It was of a dragon like the one on his father's sword, the Nocturne. It was an interesting weapon but he had really wanted to see his father's prized possession, the Masamune._

"_Well it's something that makes the other person feel happier, that's how it makes Dad feel when Mom kisses him."_

_Sora took in this information and nodded contemplatively. He always was a thinker, never too much but just enough to get him through the day. Riku always wondered what he was thinking, probably something big or interesting at the very least._

"_Have you ever kissed someone before?"_

_Now Riku was embarrassed. Sure, he had kissed a few girls here and there, never really liking anyone, not yet at least. But it always was something odd; it never made him happy even if the girl was the one to initialize it. _

_His first one was in sixth grade in the back of a tree in the playground. It was with Kairi, the little girl who had just arrived to the islands a few months before. She was more of a mission than anything. Sora liked her a lot and he felt that it would be interesting to see who would get to kiss her first. It was enjoyable but it was something that quickly lost its spark. He had won the competition, and he had to break it to her that he didn't like her._

"_Well, you remember I **had** won the dare to kiss Kairi. And a few other girls I guess," said Riku as he looked through the rest of the colors to find a suitable red for the scales. 'Please drop the topic here,' he thought as he concentrated on the mixed box of markers. He was feeling a little too uneasy about the conversation and didn't really feel like explaining all of the girls that he had kissed._

_He felt Sora's soft hand on his, making him try to move it. The right color was right there, why was he playing around? Frowning at his friends' sudden act of playfulness, he looked up at him, about to scold at him._

_Then, Sora kissed him. It wasn't really a kiss, more like the younger boy pressing his lips forcefully to his own in an almost bruising manner. Blushing madly, Riku recoiled violently and fell back onto his back, rolling over to his side stunned. Sora, his best friend, his **male** best friend, had kissed him. It was a little too much for his brain to take._

"_What the hell was that for?" yelled Riku as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "That was uncalled for!"_

"_But Riku, I've kissed you before! All the time!" argued the brunette as he blushed in a fluster._

"_Yeah, when we were **little**! And that was only on the cheek too! This is totally disgusting!" he replied, now rubbing his mouth raw with his shirt. It was embarrassing to him, Sora was his best friend and he had no right to do that. He started to sound more like his father Sephiroth._

"_Still, I never got to kiss anyone. And I thought that maybe I could kiss you." Sora then looked to his hands despairingly. Whenever he did that, Riku always gave in. It was heartbreaking to see Sora sad, no matter **how** out of line he truly was. Giving a frustrated sigh, he placed his hand on Sora's shoulder. "I just wanted to make you happy Kiku. I'm sorry."_

"_Its okay Sora, I don't mind," said Riku, blushing now at his cheesiness. He was really going to let Sora kiss him, but only for today. If he let him do it again, it might get a little weird, they were both boys after all._

_Gently holding up his chin he kissed him, using everything he had learned from the little experience he had. It was a simple one, gentle and encouraging. Sora froze, trying to think of what to do. He felt like a cold fish in his hands and Riku tried to motivate him to respond more normally to say the least._

"_Just relax," he moaned before he kissed him again. Sora nervously eased into his friend's kisses, letting him take over. In doing so, Riku then let go of his chin and wrapped an arm around the other boy's waist kissing him with more enthusiasm._

_It was all new to the silver-haired boy as he gave kiss after kiss, each one deeper than the last. Blushing brilliantly, Sora let Riku ravish his lips, feeling every petal soft fold and crease of them. He clutched the older boy's shirt as he timidly started his own counter kisses._

"_Riku," he moaned, taken back from the feelings that he was getting from it. So this was kissing? It was more enjoyable than he thought. And his friend seemed so good at it too he thought innocently._

_**Knock, knock, knock.**_

_Riku suddenly stopped the onslaught and stared at his friend in shock. Someone was at the door and whoever it was, it wasn't good. It could either be his mother and he couldn't imagine what her response could be at seeing her son practically making out with is guy best friend. Or, even worse, it could be his dad and he knew that he wasn't very tolerant with anything that could happen around him that he didn't know about. He hated secrets and this could be a big one._

_Looking back at Sora in a panic, he tried to figure out what evidence could be seen. Sora's lips were the strawberry red and he appeared to be a bit flushed as he looked back at Riku nervously like a deer in headlights. His own shirt now had a tell tale cluster of wrinkles on his chest and nothing he could presently think of could cover that. They were screwed._

_Saying his prayers in his head, he quickly stood up to get the door before it gently opened. 'We're going to be caught, and then Sora will get in trouble, and then we won't be able to hang out anymore. And I'm not even gay!' he thought in a panic, tensing up for whoever it could be._

"_Riku, Mom wanted to know if you guys wanted something from a drive thru." It was the answer to his prayers. Sira looked at him with her father's bedroom eyes in a gentle expression. She was always more understanding than their parents and the most observant._

"_Uh… yeah, that would be great. Right Sora?" asked Riku nervously, trying to gain back his composure. His whole body felt like he was shaking, making him feel as if he was going to collapse at any moment. Sora looked up at him and blushed profusely._

"_What?"_

_Riku learned then that Sora was a bad liar, even to save both of their dignities. They were busted and there was nothing they could do about it. Sira looked at the both of them with a skeptical gaze and then her eyes widened before she let out a knowing laugh._

"_Don't worry about it. I'll take care of it," she said. Before closing the door, she continued, "Just make sure that you lock the door the next time you want another little rendezvous."_

_With Sira gone, Riku sighed before letting his legs collapse, sliding down the wall. Laying his head back, he looked to the wall ahead of him. That was close, it was only Sira. His sister wouldn't tell anyone but he was still shaken about it. It was too close._

_He felt Sora scoot up to him and put a hand on his shoulder comfortingly. "Are you okay?" he asked in his usual innocent tone. The silver-haired boy pulled up his knees to his chin and huddled himself there, the tremors slowly dying down._

"_This never happened Sora," he said, still shaken about it. It was embarrassing to him, he had kissed his best friend and very heatedly at that. They were also too young to be doing such things; a small and chaste kiss would have been enough if anything. The kiss they shared had feeling in it, too much feeling. It didn't make him happy or satisfied or anything of that nature. It had left him scared, ashamed, and the weird urge for more that hit him in the pit of his stomach. He felt ravenous, if it was that exact feeling; he had the desire to grab him back again and run his hands all over his skin. There were so many indescribable feelings that raced through his mind and body that it left him dizzy inside and almost maddened._

_Sora lowered his head and sat next to him, tapping his feet together with a frown. "I'm sorry I asked you." Riku then eyed him nervously. Even though he himself felt as if he was going insane, the blue-eyed boy next to him didn't seem to be harboring any of those feelings whatsoever. He seemed more upset that he could have possibly hurt him with his bold action than anything else. He sighed heavily and mussed up his friend's already tousled mass of brown hair._

"_It's alright Sora. I just got a little carried away, that's all. We're still friends right?" he said with a weak smile. Sora then grinned his trademark grin and nodded his head determinedly._

"_Now that you've taught me Kiku, I'll be even better than you! And then I'll have all of the girlfriends." Riku bust out laughing, falling out of his fetal position to a more sprawled out fashion against the wall. That was Sora for him, quick to look over anything that he said to look over._

Remembering that day, Riku smiled, curling over to the side. Sora was too innocent for his own good, no matter how much he may have toughened up and become more of a man. Deep in his heart, he would always be a kid, no matter what. That inner youth was what had drawn Riku to him most of all. It was a forgiving and gentle soul that he had that could make him feel as if he was bigger than life. Whenever they played games, or sparred, or even on tests, he had mostly come out on top, in turn making his friend idolize him even more. But Riku enjoyed it, it was what made him strive to be a better person and do well in school, and help his mother workout, and seduce many girls that he didn't really care for. He loved being the one thing Sora looked to the most.

When the accident happened, it shattered him. He remembered watching TV when the phone rang. Tifa picked up the phone and then started crying hysterically. She told him that Sora had been in a horrible car accident and that his father Cloud and Kairi had been killed. His mother had loved Cloud as a brother since they grew up together in Nibelheim. They did have feelings for each other for a short while until Cloud fell in love with Aeris. So the shock of her childhood friend being killed in an accident hurt her severely.

But what shocked Riku was when she told him that Sora was in the hospital and might not make it through the night. The other deaths did hurt him greatly but at the thought of losing his true love he shattered inside.

_Everything seemed to be falling apart. The only thing he did was fall to the floor and cry. Never before in his life had he felt so alone and lost inside. When Sira died he knew that he had Sora at his side. He knew that no matter what, Sora would help him out of it. But the thought of not having him there with him, to smile when he was sad, to hug him when he felt lonely, or to even be there to let him love him from afar, it all broke him apart._

_He huddled himself hunched over the carpet, showering tears and screaming to God why He was taking Sora away from him. He felt betrayed, like the heavens could be so cold as to take away the one thing that kept him living. It was suffocating pain that he felt but he didn't care as he hyperventilated and passed out in a mess of tears._

_When he had woken up an hour later, he remembered that he had stumbled out of the bed and landing in a heap on the floor with a thud. His mother then rushed in and struggled with him to put him back in bed, mumbling something like he had to rest. But he didn't have to rest, he couldn't rest._

"_I can't! Sora's hurt and he needs me! I have to help him or he'll die! HE'LL DIE!" he yelled as he pushed himself off of the mattress as his mother was trying to hold him down. He heard her calling for his father frantically from between his loud cries. But he kept wrestling against his mother's strong hold on him as he swung anywhere he could at her if it could get him closer to Sora._

_His father calmly walked in with long strides before stopping at the bed. He could hear his mother franticly telling him that if he didn't stop fighting that he was going to pass out again. Sephiroth pulled Riku out of his mother's grip and wrapped his arms around him in an iron grip, forcing him to be cradled in his father's lap._

_Screaming even more, struggled maddeningly against his father, his eyes reddening in he stress. Running out of energy, he soon had calmed down and simply laid his head against Sephiroth's broad shoulder. Sora was dying, he knew it. What was worse was that there was nothing to do. He couldn't see him one last time before he died, he couldn't tell him that he loved him with all of his heart and that he made him the happiest person in the world when he simply said a friendly 'hi' to him every morning. He had failed him and he would lose him for it. At that thought, he miserably passed out once again but didn't wake up until the next morning._

* * *

A/N: Hey everyone, I hope this chapter had cleared some questions up for you. Now you know what is inside of the box, what Riku's feelings really are, and a little into the life of Rai Kisaragi. Most of this chapter was happily typed on my brand new tablet PC! I got it for my graduation present! It's so awesome! It's called Azrael. I named him. Well, I hope you liked the chapter. I tried hard to clear some very confusing things up. Well, review! 


	4. Behind These Walls

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Square Enix and Disney does. I do, however, own the original characters like Sira Lockheart, Shell Bastion, and the ever so sexy Rai Kisaragi.

A/N: Here's some advice to you all, if you don't like a person, don't talk to them please. It is so annoying when people who clearly don't like you have to talk to you and say "Oh I miss you!" Bull crap! Total Bull! Correct me if I'm wrong but that is total bull and I its totally annoying. Plus, when someone says "Oh, I hope the problem that you are having with 'Blank' isn't bringing you down even though I'm the little ho that caused it). I still want to be your friend!" Now, if you really are best friends with the party that has hurt the person you are talking to and you genuinely want to be their friend, don't say to ignore it because if you really have the inkling of wanting to be someone's friend you should try to… I don't know, do something! And if you say that no matter what is going , _you_ still want to be their friend, you just have issues! Who in their right mind says that they want to be friends behind their friend's backs? It really comes off that way. Well, ignoring my rant, on with the story. Enjoy!

* * *

Promise Me Mortality

* * *

"_Well what are we supposed to do!"_

"_Do nothing, just leave me alone! Let… me… go." _

"_I'm not gonna let you go, not yet. We need each other Rai; you need me as much as I needed you. I don't care if some damn assassin comes after me because I know you need my help."_

* * *

Chapter 4: Behind these Walls

Life is love and love is life. Sora was beginning to think of such profound things like this as he sat in the easy chair next to the TV as he looked at a small book of quotes and sayings that was left in the rather boring set of books on the bookshelf. Their new apartment, thought temporary, was still very boring. There was only the chair he was sitting on and a couch in front of the rather standard television. Well, what was he supposed to expect, it was only a backup place made for Rai incase he was in danger right? It was only supposed to be basic and temporary.

Currently, Rai was unloading the set of groceries that they had recently bought. Tonight, he said he was going to cook him a feast from his native country. It was sure to be delightful, all of the foods that they bought seemed so exotic and all smelled so good. Deciding to use up his time, he turned on the television to see what channels were on that he liked. As he flicked through the channels, he found nothing of interest so he left it on the news, there was something always interesting on there.

_Breaking news today, President ShinRa has put Midgard on a danger warning of attacks from the eco-terrorists Avalanche who have recently joined forces with the rebel nation of Wutai._

This was definitely interesting. Eco-terrorists? Well, they had plenty of good arguments that they could say about this place. There were hardly any birds at all and the only ones he had seen or heard were pigeons and other unpleasant looking creatures with wings. He missed waking up in the morning to hear the beautiful cooings of gentle songbirds as they fluttered their pretty little wings on his windowsill.

But the thing that also interested him was about the Wutai. They were attacking ShinRa right? And they were the same people who supposedly came after Rai last night.

_The rebel alliance have currently targeted a series of major reactors for Sector 3, 2, 5, and 6, a hit that could bring Midgard it utter destruction and chaos._

"Rai?" asked he asked as he furrowed his eyebrows at the information. The younger boy ceased his organizing temporarily to walk over to the small living room.

"Yes? What is it?" he asked. Leaning against the chair that his friend was sitting in, he folded his arms as he listened. The newscaster continued, showing video clips of past bombings on reactors in Midgard.

"They're saying that Midgard might be attacked by Wutai and some Avalanche people. It seems pretty serious," said Sora as he continued to watch.

_Here's live footage of President Rufus Shinra addressing the media._

Then the feed went to show a rather tall and pale man standing in front of a podium wearing a long white trenchcoat. He seemed very young for his position as president of all ShinRa, the biggest corporation in the world but with his menacing blue eyes, he could easily kill all who disagreed anyway. Next to him stood a slightly younger man with long black hair slicked back and down with a bindhi type of mark on his forehead. On the other side was a young woman with short blond hair and deep brown eyes looking fiercely and excitedly at the crowd.

"_Now, citizens of Midgard; there is no real reason to worry. The Wutai and Avalanche are no match against our skilled military and SOLDIER units. We are bringing in more experienced personnel from all corners of the globe to help in our effort to find out and squash these rebels once and for all."_

The news reporters clapped at his speech and then there was a flurry of questions from them. Looking over his audience, he pointed to a select reporter with a laugh.

"_You all are so eager today. Mr. Ledeg."_

A fairly balding man stood up and looked at his notepad of questions he had to ask.

"_There are rumors that Wutai is aiming for a peace treaty before war. What is your reaction to that?"_

The other reporters clamored together, discussing the question and how they believed the President to answer the question. President Shinra nodded at the inquiry and leaned against the podium.

"_Well, if there was any belief that they had the intention of doing so, we wouldn't be in this predicament and I wouldn't have to miss out on an excellent dinner to be seeing you people."_

The crowd all laughed at his reply, Sora as well. "He seems to be pretty cool for the president of such a big company," said the older boy as he watched eagerly. Rai simply muttered something under his breath.

"_Now, the man with the bad hair cut."_

A few more of the reporters laughed as a fairly young man stood up uneasily, looking around to see if there could have been anyone else he was talking to.

"_Uh, well, I- I mean, what about the rumors of our use of secret spies from Wutai in this struggle?"_

This question grabbed Sora's attention. Spies from Wutai? Maybe Rai was secretly a spy against the Wutai and that's why they wanted him killed. But he still had problems grasping that. No matter how fishy he was and how possible him being a spy could be, Rai wouldn't so easily do such a thing. It wasn't in his nature to betray someone like that, even if it _was_ the people who tried to kill him. It had to be something else.

"Lets turn to something else Sora. This is full of shit," said his obviously disturbed companion as he reached for the remote from Sora's lap. Before it was in his grasp, the brunette took the device and held it in a firm grip on the armrest.

"This is interesting and I want to see it. Besides, we need to know about what's happening in Midgard, they say there might be a war here," he replied in a maternal and scolding manner. The younger boy simply huffed and pouted against the chair, his arms folded even more.

President Shinra quickly began his answer, thinking about it for a few seconds.

"_There are spies that we have against the Wutai and against Avalanche as well but the names will not be disclosed. If we did, then what use would they be as spies right?"_

The crowd laughed again at his joke and the nervous reporter sat down. They were eating it all up and the president was enjoying every minute of it. Figuring out who was to ask the last question, he pointed to a rather distinguished man in the back of the room. The cameras turned to him as he stood up in his rather short stature.

"_Begging your pardon Mr. President but what about the speculation of you fathering an illegitimate child in that cursed place?"_

The crowd then fell silent. No jovial laughter or mumblings of predictions could be heard as they all awaited for his answer. The woman to the left of President Shinra's eyes widened at the question and she looked to him for orders. However, the other man to the left of him simply stood there stoically as he waited for his boss' reply.

Sora blinked at this as well. "The president having an illegitimate child? From Wutai? Rai have heard about that before?" asked Sora innocently as he turned to his friend. He was motionless and seemed to be shaking in rage as he glared daggers at the screen. Turning back to the screen, the older boy waited for the response.

The president simply chuckled at the question and ran his black leather gloved fingers through his golden blond hair, giving a devilish smile shortly after.

Now the guy seemed smug, a bit too smug.

"_I, at the very least, understand your assumption of that being the end result of my trip some eighteen years ago on financial business to Wutai. They do offer up anything they can so we can get the 'bang for our buck' as some people say."_

A few people chuckled uneasily at the comment, not knowing if he was truly in a good mood or if he was in his sadistic humor before someone ended up missing. The reporter however stood unfazed, eyes focused on the president in determination. Seeing this, President Shinra then leaned on his podium and focused his now hawk-like eyes in a malicious glare.

"_I got the bang for my buck but the buck stopped there. End of Story."_

The reporters then squabbled on with extra questions as the president and his two bodyguards walked out behind the stage, not before whispering something to the black-haired man. The man then nodded and pulled his headset microphone closer his mouth and mumbled in an order as President Rufus coolly pulled his shades on with a grin.

Sora heard his friend angrily walk off into the kitchen. Following him concernedly, he hovered over the kitchen entrance, watching the other boy hack at a head of cabbage with fervor. His shoulders were tense in an emotion that Sora couldn't quite read, maybe anger, sadness, or at the utter shock of something. Deciding that it was a combination of the three, he leaned against the doorway, watching over him from afar.

What he had heard on the TV had shocked his friend to no end. He had never seen him as angry and pent up as he was now. What had caused his reaction? Did he hate President Shinra so much to cause him to act this way?

Rai suddenly yelped in pain as he accidentally sliced part of his finger in his rush and quickly stuck the wound into his mouth, cussing under his breath like a sailor.

"What's wrong Rai?" the brunette asked as he slowly walked into the room. The said boy, upon seeing the entry of his friend, tensed up, feeling embarrassed at him seeing him like this.

"Nothing, just go back to that damn TV or whatever the hell else you wanted to do." He blushed gently as his elder pulled his hand from his mouth to inspect the cut. The feeling of his eyes upon him so intensely made him blush even more, looking away from him in an attempt to save him pride.

Taking his hand, Sora led him to his bags and shuffled through them. Pulling out the box of bandages, he slipped out one sized just right for fingers and laid it on the wound, applying the adhesive tenderly. The taller boy watched him take care of his rather minor wound intensely, eyes clouded in another round of thoughts.

"All better," said Sora as he smiled up at him in his long forgotten child-like manner. "Just make sure that you're careful next time that you decide to storm off."

He soon felt a sense of nervousness as he felt Rai's intense gaze on him. There was something about his eyes that didn't seem like normal. They seemed more searching, desperate, in need of some kind of comfort. What was really on his mind? What had hurt him so much from what President Shinra had said that knocked him off of his inner axis?

Leaning to his friend's kneeling form ever so slowly, Rai had kissed him. In his worried state, Sora did nothing but continue his thoughts, feeling as if he had been separated from his body and was now watching everything between him and his friend unfold. Rai's kisses were gentle and even meek as he slowly caressed the older boy's lips with his own, rubbing his nose affectionately with his with each one.

Breaking away from him slowly, his honey-colored eyes looked into his deep blues, asking his permission. Sora looked to the side with a blush as he focused his eyes on the carpet, watching Rai's shadow move slowly across it as he felt soft and warm lips give butterfly kisses along his neck.

What was he doing? This was his friend. He shouldn't be allowing him do this; he was just acting on his sudden rush of feelings. He wasn't really thinking it was _himself_ kissing his best friend. But he somehow needed him. Even though it seemed as if he had only been upset at something the president had said in his press conference, it was something more than that.

There was going to be a war happening, something that he had accidentally become a part of in some way that Sora wasn't quite sure of yet. And because of that, Rai needed him. He needed someone to help him feel as if he wasn't alone in a scheme that was far bigger than he had initially imagined, something far bigger than himself.

Sora simply accepted his friend's soft touches and warm soothing kisses as he was laid back against the feathery carpet between the sofa and the ever so quaint coffee table, azure eyes fixed on ceiling. 'I shouldn't be doing this. This isn't right. I shouldn't be doing this,' he repeated in his mind as he wrapped his tanned arms around the assaulter's back. It wasn't right but who was to blame? Rai had the overwhelming feeling of loneliness and being paralyzed in what was going on around in but it didn't mean that he had the right to take advantage of Sora like he was. And though Sora had good intentions of helping his friend in his time of need, trying to repay him for his kindness in helping him, he wasn't right to let Rai use him in such a manner to redeem his own guilt.

Each inch of clothing that was shed from him felt as if a burden had been lifted from his soul. He was doing the right thing. He was helping Rai cope with his feelings. If it was what he wanted, so be it as long as he could keep being the rebellious friend that he had known. The kisses became bruising and more lustful as the younger boy trailed his lips over his friend's soft shoulders and pure skin, never before touched by another soul in such a way as he was now. His breath upon his skin was hot and soothing on his Sora's bare chest. He laid there like a doll in a newly opened box of tissue paper, bared as a sacrifice, a toy, a beautiful thing to immerse oneself in.

With each caress and sensual kiss that had been bestowed upon his body and lips, the young island boy lost himself. He had lost himself in the pain he felt as he was being roughly rocked into the carpet. He had lost himself as he heard his name called over and over again. As his friend, the one he had cherished and enjoyed so entirely, took him as his own, he had felt his debt repaid. He had repaid his unconditional friendship and care with himself as he stared blankly at the ceiling, watching the fan's long wooden blades turn.

* * *

"Oh my God! That was so hilarious!" laughed Riku as he walked out of the theater with his two best friends Tidus and Wakka. They had just seen a rather obnoxious comedy about a man struggling to propose to the woman he loved. It was the most fun he had had in the month and a half that Sora was now temporarily out of their lives. His friends had watched him mope around school long enough to decide to take him out to see a movie. They had been waiting for it to come out since the wintertime when the previews for it came out.

Smiling with his friends, Riku looked up at the night sky. The stars were so beautiful, twinkling their magic in the heavens, whispering their secrets and ancient stories. His two companions eyed him confusedly and looked up to the sky as well, trying to figure out what he was seeing. To them it was just stars, the same stars that would appear every other night that they could look up.

"I wonder what he's doing," said the silver haired dreamer with a sigh. Tidus raised an eyebrow at his statement quizzically.

"Who are you talking about?" he asked, earning a nudge in the shoulder from Wakka with a grin.

"Uh oh, Riku's getting into his spiritual mood again," joked the hearty native as he chuckled loudly. It was true, Riku tended to have moments like this, where he would simply stare off and think of grand things and cosmic wisdom. His father would sometimes do the same thing, sitting in the library with eyes glazed over a rather old scripture. They were both dreamers, wanting something more to life than just the mundane and what was laid out for them. It was the thing that lead to his father's downfall and soon to his own as well.

"I'm talking about Sora. I wonder if he's happy in Midgard. I hope he's having the time of his life," he said with a smile as he traced out the sign of Jenova with his fingers. "Mother Jenova, keep him safe."

* * *

When Riku had reached his house, his mother was sitting on the couch with a worried expression on her face.

"Hey Mom, I've got you the new workout tape you were talking about," he said as he fished for it in his bag of things that he had bought. While he was out, he had decided to get Sora a present as well, a silly t-shirt with the words "Born to Kill" and a picture of a mog with a nail bat in its hands. He decided it would be something nice to mail off to him later.

Tifa looked up to her son nervously as she wrung her hands together. The teen knew that whenever his mother did that, something big was happening. Frowning, he placed the tape on the coffee table and sat on the couch next to her.

"What's wrong Mom? Where's Dad?" he asked, nervous about her reply.

"He received a call from ShinRa. He's locked himself in the library for an hour now," she said, eyes worried.

"Well, what's so bad about that? Dad's probably just catching up with Rufus or something like that. Don't worry about it," he said as he slowly got up to go into his room. His show was supposed to come on soon and he needed to get the tape recorder ready.

"You haven't heard have you?" she asked her son, not turning around to face him. He stopped with his back to her and cocked his head to the side. Heard about what? What was happening?

"I don't understand Mother. Heard what?" he voice was now tender but concerned as well. Something was happening and he didn't like it. His mother sighed and looked ahead of her, eyes blank.

"There is going to be a war."

"Wha-what do you mean?" he asked, slightly panicked. War? He had only heard about wars in his history books and tales from years ago. But he thought that relations with the other countries had made it so that war would be too much of a tangle.

"The Wutai are becoming more violent in their methods for financial independence from ShinRa. And they've decided to group with Avalache to bring down Midgard in the process."

"Avalanche… isn't that the old eco-terrorist group that you used to be a part of?" he asked, eyes panicked. He had remembered the tales that his mother had told Sira and him about the radical group that bombed strategic reactors to shut down ShinRa and stop the destruction of the planet. But since his mother had first fallen in love with Sephiroth, she had quit the group and cut off all ties to it. But he had thought that they ceased to be. They were back?

His mother sighed and nodded her head. "Yes, Avalanche is back but now they are even more stupid than they were before. They were reckless and now they plan on tying themselves to the Wutai, something that is much bigger than it needs to be." She then gave a bitter laugh. "Those fools are now trying to drag us into an all out war."

"But there's a chance that there won't be a war. If ShinRa simply wipes them out and takes complete control, then they'll have all they want and there won't be anything about it."

"That won't help anything. Besides, why would ShinRa want to waste money, troops, and precious time to take over Wutai when they can just exploit it instead. Those people don't understand that ShinRa is what's keeping that little rundown country together. If they decided to invest their money into someplace else, their whole economy would crumble. This is a useless war that'll have useless results," she said angrily as she rested her forehead against her clasped hands.

"So what does Dad have to do with it?"

"I have to go to Midgard to head SOLDIER operations."

The both of them turned around to see the man himself Sephiroth Lockheart, standing with his arms folded, cold aqua eyes staring at them. He never did like anyone talking secrets around him.

"Oh, what did they say?" asked Tifa, her eyes hopeful. He stoically walked down past the couch to sit down in a plush chair, his 'throne.'

"Shinra wants me to leave tomorrow morning to Midgard to train troops for potential guerilla warfare. I might not be back for a while," he said, dazing off into oblivion. He never looked a person straight in the eye whenever he talked to them unless he had the very intention to kill them or when he was really worked up in emotion. The former option occurred more than others.

"Well, I want to go too Dad," said Riku, making his mother jump up.

"You are most certainly not! There's going to be a war Riku and we don't know when you'll be back. And its important business that your Father has to take care of. It isn't a vacation."

Sephiroth however simply nodded to his request and muttered out an 'okay' before he stood up and retreated into the library yet again, probably to read over his books for the fifteenth time.

"Thanks Dad!" he called after him in a grateful tone. He was going to go to Midgard! He might even be able to Sora while he was there. He wondered how much it had actually changed. When he was a boy, they used to always visit the megalopolis, buying weird items, watching the movies, and simply sightseeing. His mother turned to her son with worried eyes.

"Of all of the things to do Riku! Don't you know how dangerous it is out there? Don't you understand how important of a man your father is? There will be many people trying to assassinate him and they'll come after you to do it"

Riku smiled and walked upstairs, ignoring the words of his mother. He was going to Midgard and that's all that mattered to him. He could finally see Sora again. It had felt like a century since he was able to have him at his side. Maybe, his father might actually let him stay and attend school there during their trip. It was going to be a while before his father came back anyway right?

Throwing himself on his bed, he smiled up to the ceiling. Tonight he was going to pack and go off to find his beloved. He sat up and walked over to his dresser. He had to dress the part of his father's son so he had to dig far back into his clothing. If he had appeared there with his father wearing a t-shirt and jeans, he would bring shame to Sephiroth. ShinRa already disapproved of his marriage to Tifa of the notorious Avalanche group so he had to appear as if he was brought up well, like the prized son of an elite ShinRa family like he was.

In the back of his dresser he found his more expensive clothing. They were the things that his father had bought him every now and then and his presents from President Shinra himself. It was a mass of fine silk button up shirts and well made sweaters, in almost every dark color that could be imagined and a few in lights.

Ever since meeting the rather tall and intimidating "godfather" of his, he had always been showered with presents ranging from clothes to money and even the promise of a brand new car of his choice when he could drive. Though he had seemed kind, Rufus had always seemed as if he only saw his father in him and only treated him as such.

His father was probably packing as well so he decided to hurry it up. How long was he supposed to pack for, a couple of days? Weeks? Months? He decided to pack for a little over a week's trip, after all, if he ran out of clothing Rufus would simply by him a whole new wardrobe anyway.

Looking around his room, he put in a few mementos into his sidebag, to carry it aboard in case his luggage was lost. He decided upon his old friendship bracelet that Sora had made for him in the sixth grade, a few photos of his friends and family, his favorite blue pocket knife, and the chain that Sora had given him to remember him by the morning before they left.

He looked at the necklace thoughtfully. It was a thick and shiny silver chain that sparkled brightly in the lamplight. At the end was a charm, in the shape of a crown. Ever since his friend had received it on his birthday from his father Cloud, Sora always used that symbol in everything he did, whether it was signing yearbooks and such or buying shirts that simply had a crown in some shape or form on it. It symbolized him. Putting the chain around his neck, he smiled as he felt its weight on his chest.

"Riku! Phone for you!" yelled his mother from down the stairs. He sighed and pushed himself off of his comfortable seating position on his bed. Whose bright idea was it to call him at this hour? It was just before midnight!

With a sigh, he picked up the receiver in his room. "I've got it Mom!" he yelled out of the door before cradling the phone on his shoulder. This had better be good or else someone was going to be thoroughly yelled at.

"Hello, this is Riku," he began as he threw himself upon his bed. The voice he heard from the other end shocked him.

"Hey, this is Sora. I need to talk."

* * *

A/N: Hey y'all, I just finished this after my last day of school! Us seniors had to check out and it was a major pain. Luckily, I was able to get to find some of my friends so we hung out. Well, how do you like this chapter? Is it good? Do you like the little plot twist I created? The story was going too slow and I needed to give it a little boost. Besides, it would give more reason for what's gonna happen next in the story. Well, sorry this is so angsty but I promise there will be light moments. Like they say in Kingdom Hearts, within light there is darkness and within darkness is light. So, review and tell me how you like the story or how you don't like it. Either way is cool to me. Bye!

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	5. Symphony

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Square Enix and Disney does. I do, however, own the original characters like Sira Lockheart, Shell Bastion, and the ever so sexy Rai Kisaragi.

A/N: Please review to me a lot more! It's kind of tiring to see that there are only a few reviews on the counter. You like the story don't you? If you don't want me to continue to post the story, that's fine with me but if you do, then you need to put up some reviews or this thing will be closed. Well, enough of my ranting, I just want to say that the story will be a lot more intense now. The past few chapters have been the hardest to write because I had to give out all of the information so that the actual plot would make sense. Well, I hope you like it. And there will be a little bit more SoraxRiku-ness in here! A little less more Rai-ness, sorry. Enjoy!

* * *

Promise Me Mortality

* * *

"_Hello, this is Riku."_

"_Hey, this is Sora. I need to talk."_

* * *

Chapter 5: Symphony

Riku laid on his bed, trying to take it all in. Sora, his beloved, had called him! He had almost forgotten how his gentle yet masculine voice sounded like. Either that or he had changed in the past month and some few weeks.

"Sora!" he started in shock. His heart was racing. "I haven't heard from you in so long! I thought you had forgotten me," he continued in a pouting tone. He always did that to make his friend laugh. It was so out of character for him to do so that it always caught him by surprise.

He heard a weak chuckle from the other end. Why did he sound so sad? Was he okay? Sick?

"I'm sorry, its just that things have been happening."

"You didn't say that you missed me." Though he hid it in a jovial mood, Riku was hurt. He didn't miss him? He was probably having the time of his life and was glad not to have him always looking over his shoulder. He fiddled with his now longer hair as he tried to hold back his pain. 'I have to be positive for him right? If I don't, then he'll get worried.'

"I did miss you Riku. Don't say that," said Sora in a scolding voice.

"Say what? I didn't say anything." He was starting to get worried about him. It wasn't like Sora to sound so sad. Even after the accident, he had the capability to smile and joke with him, and his girlfriend and father had died!

There was a pause on the phone which made Riku's mind race even more. What was going on over there? Was he hurt? Did someone hurt him? Was it Zack? Or was it someone else? Was he in danger? Or even more, was he running away from battle or something of that nature?

Before his thoughts became too ridiculous, he heard a silent and wounded whisper.

"Did… did you miss _me_?"

This really wasn't Sora. At least not the Sora he had known. The once happy, carefree, and even childish friend that he had fallen in love with had now become someone so filled up with sadness and angst that if he were to actually see him, to see his faded eyes as he had imagined them, he would fall apart himself. Or be swallowed up in a rage. Either one.

"Of course I missed you Sora. I can't imagine living life without you." He didn't really care if he was sounding strange, his friend would probably not even know the real meaning deep down. He felt the urge to simply spill out the contents of his heart to him but he held it back.

"I'm glad Riku. Me too," said his friend in a warm voice. He seemed relieved, relieved that someone actually cared about him enough to miss him, to wish he was there with him every waking moment.

"What's wrong Sora? You don't seem like yourself." As soon as he said that, he felt his friend's mood change. It was silent, a deep, choking, and cold silence that seemed to last forever. Sora then spoke up with hesitation.

"I did something."

"Did something? Did what?" he asked reassuringly. What had he done that had made him so frightened? So regretful?

Sora paused and gave a frustrated sigh before he continued. "I don't think you'll like me after this. I don't want to tell you."

"Tell me Sora. I won't judge you. You're my best friend and you know that."

It was another long pause before he finally confessed, choking back on tears.

"I fucked him."

* * *

Sora slowly walked back into the apartment, quietly easing the door shut with a lazy thud. He had been out of the house for the whole day and he hated having to come back to it. Setting his key onto the counter, he put his sidebag onto the side of the TV, eyes averting from the coffee table, the cursed place that they'd…

"Sora?" asked a maturing masculine voice from the kitchen. He cringed as he heard it and hurried into the bedroom. Slamming the door, he threw himself upon the bed and hugged the pillow, snuggling into a fetal position.

Ever since that morning, the morning he had woken up completely disrobed with only a blanket to cover them, he had felt guilty. He had felt remorseful and even dirty as if he had betrayed the golden rule of friendship. Even more, he felt embarrassed. He had exposed himself to his friend in a way that he had never done with anyone. And he had felt as if he had also let himself be taken too easily.

He was no longer a virgin anymore so that was good right? It didn't matter that he lost it to his _man_-friend and that he still hadn't been with any women. Now he had reached the halls of experience, the glorious gilded halls of men right?

Deciding that being optimistic wasn't the best thing at this exact situation, he buried his head into the pillow as he tried to doze off. School was tomorrow and he had to get his rest.

As he was trying to sleep, he heard the door slowly creak open to reveal Rai, wearing nothing but a pair of black jeans and a gold necklace upon his bare chest. In his hands was his peace offering, a bowl of exotic and rather aromatic food, making Sora' stomach rumble silently.

"I know I wasn't able to finish the meal yesterday so I decided to make it now," said the junior, his eyes locked to the wall next to him. It was painfully awkward as Sora loosened up and sat at the edge of the bed, gaze averted as well.

"Its really good," he continued, trying to fill up the silence.

"Just put it right there," said Sora in a whisper. Quietly, Rai padded his feet over to the bedside table right next to Sora and gently yet painfully placed the dish onto the hard wood. Sneaking a quick look at him, the younger teen then stood up and walked sadly back to the door and closed it behind him with a click.

It was sad; especially since a little more than 24 hours ago they were the best of friends. Looking over to the meal left on the table next to him, he eyed its contents. It contained slightly pale cabbage, chicken, beef, rice, and egg, floating in a reddish brown broth. It even smelled delicious with a warm and soothing aroma with a hint of spice every now and then.

Gently, he placed the bowl on his lap and collected a bit of the broth in the deep spoon. As soon as the juice hit his now dry and famished tongue, it flooded his taste buds with heat and the flavor of beef, chicken, fresh vegetables, and the hint of egg and cinnamon.

"It _is_ pretty good," he said with a glimmer of happiness as he began to eat it. He relished in the dish, everything was wonderful, each and every piece. The chicken was so tender and the beef just melted in his mouth with each joyful bite he took. The rice had the flavor of sweet cinnamon and exotic spices that lent its magic into the soothing ambrosia that was considered broth. The egg swirls danced over his tongue as he also chewed on the buttery and soft but still firm cabbage.

He ate the whole meal down, drinking down the last of it all in one last gulp when he raised it to his lips. After finishing it, he looked at the bowl despairingly. Only after he actually had nourishment did he realize that he was so hungry. He hadn't really eaten anything since they had reached the apartment the night before, unless he counted the small chocolate bar that he ate at noon that day.

Standing up, he decided to go to the kitchen to fix himself more of the wonderful meal. His stomach wasn't even satiated and he needed more food soon or else he would feel the pains of near starvation. In his mind, he even felt as if he had become smaller. Too bad that it couldn't possibly be true, he had only missed out on food for one day, it took longer for effects like that.

Lightly padding to the door, he creaked it open slowly and peeked outside. He could see the form of Rai laying out on the couch, one leg sprawled out over the back of it as he flicked through channels unenthusiastically. Luckily, the back of the sofa was faced in his direction so he quickly sneaked behind it and down the hall to the kitchen.

Now he was stuck. The food wasn't all in one convenient pot like he thought and wished that it would. It wasn't even in two dishes, he could have handled that. Each piece of the meal was _conveniently _held in their separate pans and pots, one for the rice, one for the beef, one for the chicken, one for the broth, one to hold the drained and seasoned cabbage, and one for the apparently spice egg mixture floating in ribbons in a slightly lighter colored broth.

"Damn it!" he said sharply and then sweat dropped in defeat. Looking over the mass of six different containers, pots, and pans, he tried to remember how the food looked. "I think it was mostly broth. Wait! It was mostly rice." Then he sighed and banged his head on the counter in frustration. He was hungry and he might die if he couldn't get food to himself as soon as possible.

Then he heard the soft sound of bare footsteps as the very person he had taken every measure to avoid came into the room, advancing to him slowly. Sora silently chanted curses in his head as he felt the sudden urge to cower into a corner in needless fear. But he was too hungry to move as he quickly averted his gaze to the food on the stovetop.

"Need help?" he asked Sora coolly as he stood in front of him, towering over the 'dying' brunette. Sora's face flushed lightly as he stiffened. What should he say? Should he listen to his dignity and not admit to anything, or his nerves and just leave and starve to death? What about his head saying that he should just accept his offer, or even his stomach who was about to take over and just eat everything there anyway. He was so hungry that it wouldn't matter if he even ate cardboard with A1 steak sauce. His small heart however was too quiet in its own pleas that it didn't have a say in the matter.

Deciding silence was the best answer, he just stood there, waiting for Rai to leave so he could devour each container unashamed. The younger teen sighed and gently took the bowl from his hands and placed it on the counter. Upon hearing the impatient and long groan of his friend's stomach, he gave him a look of concern.

"You haven't eaten all day have you?" he asked, only receiving more silence. Running a hand through his hair, he looked over the cabinets, looking for something.

Pulling down a cereal bowl, he then held in gracefully in his palm as he pulled off the lid of the broth and spooned in enough to fill a fourth of it and then opened the rice cooker, paddling out a fist sized ball of rice. Then, he put in a ladle filled of chicken and beef each, making sure to drizzle the juices over the cabbage that he had placed in shortly before. Then was the last piece. He spooned some of the egg mixture broth until it floated over the rice, making it finally the soup that he enjoyed before.

Rai held the bowl up to himself and lightly blew over the top of it. Sora raised an eyebrow at this. "It's a Wutanese superstition to blow away the bad spirits from the meal," he said as he walked to the dining room table with a hungry Sora in toe. "It is also to bring good luck and the hope of longer life with your own breath of life."

The older teen took the random information in as he watched his food rest on the table, the deep and almost ladle-like spoon sitting pleasantly next to it. Almost unconsciously, he sat down in a rush and started to gobble down the rest of the food, smiling between each mouthful happily. Rai simply watched from his seat at the other side of the table in amazement as the food soon began to disappear.

Sora sat up suddenly, catching his friend off guard. His eyes glared at the younger teen, making him flush at the thought of being caught. "Soda, now!" he demanded as he then began to eat his food again, scarfing it down like a dog starved to the brink of death.

Quickly, Rai stood up and uneasily walked into the kitchen and first pulled out one of the bottled sodas he had bought and then thought better to bring two instead. He came back to the table and set the two glass bottles before him. They were a light blue glass with an interesting style on the neck. The label said PayPiyo-Melon with an array of mixed lettering on the bottom, probably in Wutanese. However, Sora didn't care about the beautiful packaging but more on the light pink liquid inside.

Opening the first one, he licked his lips before he put the mouth of the bottle to his lips and tilted his head back, chugging down half of it in a series of four or five gulps.

"Damn Sora! You must have been starved," said Rai in shock as he watched him then finish his onslaught.

Fifteen minutes, two sodas, and one more helping of soup later, the brunette was finally full, laying back on his chair, rubbing his now slightly bulged stomach. If he ate a single bite more, he feared that he would explode or at least have to heave out the extra into the trash. Rai was now in the kitchen patiently washing dishes and wiping off the counters.

Sora peaked his head over the side of the doorway, watching him pull up a large pan and filling it with a little bit of water and soap before using a bright yellow sponge to wipe it down. On his bare shoulder was a tattoo of an eight-ball nestled in a blue rose. Over it were the words 'Lucky Eight' in a curving fashion.

'He must really love those stupid things then,' he thought as he watched him pull off a few paper towels and wipe the pan dry with care. He then put the pan to the side and then pulled up another one and began to wash that one as well. Sora blushed as he watched his friend's hunched back muscles flex and move with each movement his arms made. They were so intoxicatingly tight and fluid that his thoughts soon drifted to a new desire to run his fingers across them and feel each and every part of it.

'Wait, what the hell am I thinking?' he thought as he shook himself out of his daydreams and looked to the floor red in the face. 'This is my friend I'm thinking lustful thoughts about, my _man_ friend!' he continued as he looked back up at him again. He was now scrubbing down the counters, the dishes cleaned and put away. Only now did he realize how muscular the raven haired teen really was. He wasn't too built but rather on the slender side, healthily built to give him definition. His skin was a soft and creamy pale color, but a rich shade of peach as well.

Rai tossed the rag onto the sink and started to walk out of the kitchen. Upon seeing bright blue intense and watchful eyes, he jumped and gave out an irritated sigh.

"Don't scare me like that you little prick," he said, grasping his poor frightened heart. Sora simply blushed and laughed, scratching the back of his head.

"Sorry about that, I kinda dazed off. Forgot what I was going to get." Suddenly, a loud yawn crept up on him. Stretching his boyish form, he then rubbed his eyes drowsily.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be going to bed now," said Sora as he turned and walked off to the bedroom.

* * *

He was standing on the beach, the ocean waves crashing on the soft shore. The sweet and saline sea breeze rushed across his slightly paled skin, taking it back to the glowing and beautiful tan that it used to be. Gulls floated in the wind and hovered before diving into the water, rustling their feathers.

It was back on the island, in Destiny Islands. He had almost forgotten how truly beautiful his home was. The air was so clear and the sky was bright blue, not the dull grey tinted sky in Midgard. Opening his arms, he smiled and yelled out in happiness, the wind blowing through his spiky brown hair in reply.

"Hey Sora!" yelled a familiar voice. He shifted his blue eyes down the shore, spying a well built youth, his shoulder length silver hair dancing in the sea wind. Sora smiled brightly and waved to his friend, running towards him.

"Riku!" he called over and over again as his sandaled feet padded over towards his best friend. Jumping into a boyish hug, he laughed as he then began to run down the shore, kicking at the water happily. Riku chased shortly after him, laughing heartily.

Strong arms then wrapped around him from behind and he felt himself be lifted in the air. Riku had picked him up and then proceeded to carry him to the deeper part of the water, tossing him in to the cool ocean. Sputtering up water, he glared up at Riku playfully.

It was just so wonderful. He crawled up to the more shallow water and laid out, feeling the water rush over his legs and at the sides of his face. The beach was paradise and he felt the urge to scream out in happiness.

His best friend crashed down next to him and leaned over to his side. At that moment, with the sun shining off of his ghostlike hair and the light glittering in his eyes, Riku looked beautiful. He seemed as if he were some kind of pleasant dream put into a physical form. The thought of this made him blush.

"Uh, I'm gonna go swim now," he said quickly as he sat up, taking off his sandals. That was weird, he was thinking about Riku, his best friend Riku, in a way that he was clearly confused about. He was becoming attracted to him. Shaking his head at the thought, he looked out to the horizon. He was only thinking this way because he hadn't seen him in so long. 'Yeah, that's it.'

"Hey Sora?" asked Riku as he sat up next to him. His lips looked so soft and moist that the brunette had to hold back his urge to kiss them. The silver haired boy then gave a playful smirk, a few of his white teeth shining through. Leaning over to his shoulder seductively, he rose his lips to Sora's ear. "Lets do it."

"What! What the hell are you talking about?" demanded Sora in shock as he futilely tried to hold back his intense blush. Why was Riku asking him of this? Was he deranged? Did he get dumped by someone and was so upset to use him as a rebound?

"Oh come on Sora," he started as he leaned closer to him, tracing his fingertips across his friend's thigh suggestively. The very feeling of his touch made his heart skip a beat, causing the younger boy to quiver. "I know you've wanted it as much as I have."

Wanting it? Wanting _what_? Sora blushed even more and tried to back away. He was acting weird and it was creeping him out. Riku was coming on to him and strong at that. It wasn't like him to do that, at least not to him.

"Uh, Riku?" he asked, shuddering as Riku began to lean over him. "Maybe we should… uh…"

Soon after he said that, he was pulled into a kiss. Just as he had imagined, his lips were soft. 'I guess I can get used to this. After all, this has to be a dream,' Sora thought as he allowed Riku to push him onto the sand, tangling his fingers into his silvery tresses. Right now, he was in need of a crazy dream to make his life seem a bit more, sane, at the very least. Besides, he felt experimental this night.

"Mmmm, Sora," moaned Riku as he settled himself on top of the brunette, rolling his tongue over his soft and blushing lips. All of the sensations that the younger boy was feeling was like magic on his skin. Kisses were soon traced from his bruising lips to his warm neck, nibbling at him gently. A milky white hand at this time also decided a journey of its own, down to his hips and then up again to slide under his shirt, teasing his skin there as well.

"Riku… ahh…" he purred, letting the said boy take him over.

* * *

"Sora?"

"Riku!"

"Sora! Wake the hell up!"

The blue eyed boy suddenly opened his eyes to see the tired gaze of Rai leaning over him. Blushing, he jumped up and hid under the covers.

"Wh-Wha-What the hell are you d-doing?" he sputtered, recoiling back into the back board.

"You woke me up with your little wet dream shit," he muttered, massaging the back of his disheveled head. If it wasn't for the fact that Sora had been caught having an adulterous dream, he would have thought the sight of a cranky and red-eyed messy haired Rai very amusing. But he _did_ have that dream after all.

Collapsing back into bed, Rai pulled the covers over his head and sprawled his limbs out, trying desperately to fall back to sleep. Sora raised an eyebrow at this.

"What time is it?" he asked, looking to the window. It was getting sunny… well as sunny as it could possibly get in Midgard and he could hear the hustle and bustle start for the brand new day.

He saw a shift in the sheets and after a long groan and an array of cussing, he finally received his reply.

"I don't give a fuck, you check your own damn self!"

"Jeez," he sighed, getting out of bed lazily. "Who woke _you_ up on the wrong side of the bed?"

"Fuck you…"

Deciding that pursuing any type of conversation with Rai now would be a bad idea, the brunette padded his socked feet out to the living room to see what time it was.

"Seven fifteen," he muttered as he walked into the bathroom.

Taking a quick shower, he brushed his teeth and walked back into the bedroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. Making sure he wasn't under the perverted eyes of the irritated man in the comforters, he opened the dresser and pulled out his school uniform. While he got dressed, and making sure that Rai was still asleep, his thoughts began to drift back off to the dream.

What kind of thing was that? At first, it was perfect, being on the beach at the islands and soaking in the warm sun like he used to. Hell, it was even more awesome when Riku appeared and they played on the shore like they did since they were children. But then his friend began to hit on him, and even going as far to feel him up and ask to have sex with him. What the hell was that?

He blushed at his thoughts and buttoned up his shirt. Was he too confused after that night with Rai that he was confusing friendship with secret desires and lust-filled gazes? If he had a dream with Tidus or Wakka like that, he might as well jump out of a window or never sleep again.

Fastening his watch onto his wrist, he made a quick look and sighed. It was seven thirty-three and they needed to get to school by nine. With rush-hour being as it typically was, he didn't want to risk being late. The commute from Sector 2 to Sector 3 was going to be hell enough as it was.

"Hey Rai," said the brunette as he stood over the bed. Watching the Wutanese boy's face, he realized how handsome his friend really was. Sure, he had looked at him every now and then when he was curious about him but he never really _looked_ at him. His childish face was twisted into a frown, his eyebrows knitted together as if he was concentrating on how to sleep. But his long black hair messily framed his face, making him look rather cute if he did say so himself.

Then, Sora raised an eyebrow. Leaning closer to the sleeping teen, he saw a small hint of dark umber hair peeking through. 'What the heck?' he thought as he leaned closer, moving his head side to side to watch the light shine off of the small part of hair. Sure enough, it was a rich dark brown, a good half an inch of it. It wasn't that easy to tell so Rai probably didn't notice it was showing.

But the fact that it was brown was the big puzzle for him. Rai Kisaragi was from Wutai and they typically had naturally jet black hair and dark brown almond-shaped eyes. Plus, they typically had a more buttery complexion. He, on the other hand, was pale with a slight hue of pink and had naturally brown hair with light brown eyes that verged into hazel. That led Sora to the truth, that he wasn't entirely Wutanese, he was of a mixed parentage. But why didn't he tell him about it earlier?

The teen in question slowly creaked an eye open, groaning in frustration. Quickly, with seemingly lightning speed, he reached out and grabbed a fistful of Sora's chocolaty locks from the back of his head and gave them a good yank.

"Owww! What the hell!" the older boy yelled as he gripped his hair to try to stop the pain.

"Well that's what you get you nosy little prick." Now Sora well knew that his friend was definitely _not_ a morning person. Backing away, he sat at the edge of the bed and rubbed the now sore spot on his head.

"Sorry your _highness_ but it is a little past seven thirty and I know that we have to be in school by nine. I don't think you can work miracles so you better hurry up and get dressed."

Rai suddenly shot up and struggled his way out of the bed. "Seven thirty? Holy shit!" he yelled as he started stripping on his way to the bathroom. Rolling his eyes, Sora walked over to his sidebag and began to pack his books for the school day.

* * *

"Hey Sora!" yelled Shell as she flung her arms around her boyfriend's neck, nuzzling her forehead against his. Sora blushed at the open display of affection.

"Come on Shell, everyone's watching," he whimpered as he gently tried to get out of her grasp. Realizing the scene she was making, she jumped away from him and buried her hands into her lap, blushing shyly.

Yeah, it was a bit embarrassing to be openly affectionately with her in front of the whole school but he thought it could be worse. Rai could have been walking down the cafeteria for once and… well, he didn't know. In actuality, he didn't know the reason _why_ he was so hesitant to be even remotely loving with his girlfriend around Rai or his other friends. He knew he didn't have feelings for him, right? So what was he so worried about?

"Oh Sora you're so mean!" whined Selphie as she paused in eating her garden salad. He sighed and slunk into the chair, she was right. He was being unfair to her. After all, she was his girlfriend right? And what are boyfriends supposed to do with their girlfriends?

"Don't be mean to him Fi. If Sora feels uncomfortable about it, then I respect his decision," said Shell gently, looking to Yuna for support. The other girl smiled and nodded. "See, even Yuna agrees with me. Two to one!"

"No fair! I'm just looking out for you! If I didn't know better, I would think that Sora's cheating on you," said Selphie, making Sora spit up part of his soda onto the floor.

"Ewww Sora! That is gross!"

"See, he is! He's looking guilty 'cause it's true!" said the bouncy girl, folding her arms and glaring at him threateningly.

"Oh come on Fi! You seriously believe Sora is cheating on me because he doesn't want to have an open make out scene in the middle of the school?"

"Well it's true Shell. Before, he used to be crazy about you, only asking about what kinds of things you like, what kind of girl you are, and asking me to ask you what you thought of him."

Sora sighed as he put his head on the table, muttering 'why me' over and over again. Selphie wasn't really supposed to tell her about it, hell, it made him seem like a sick and pathetic stalker.

"You weren't supposed to tell her about that Selphie!" he mumbled from the table.

"Well, it's true Sora! You used to be crazy about her and these past three days you've been treating her like a disease. So who is she?" asked Selphie, smacking her palms onto the table as she stood up, leaning over to him in an intimidating way. The blue-eyed boy slunk back defensively, holding his hands up surrendering. What was she talking about? _Him_, cheating on the girl of his dreams with someone else? Who could beat dreams?

Sora blushed at the thought of his rather heated dream with Riku. He recently had another one with him on the beach. This time however Rai was in it as well and they both had him pinned down as they took turns enjoying his body while Sora cried out in pleasure. Unfortunately, he was a loud sleeper and he woke up that morning to see his friend blushing on the couch, trying to get his last half an hour of sleep in piece.

Upon seeing his reaction, his interrogator pointed a knowing finger at him. "I knew it! He _is_ cheating on you! Who is she?"

"There isn't any girl!"

"Or is it…" she then started, gasping in the middle of her sentence. The two other girls huddled closer to her, wanting to know what she was going to say.

"Is it what?"

"A man?"

Sora blushed hotly at the accusation. The images of the dream he had of Riku and Rai came back to his mind and he clapped his hands to his face, trying to hide his embarrassment.

The other girls gasped. "Sora how could you do such a thing to Shell?" asked Yuna as she looked at him crossly.

"No-No-No-No! I did no such thing! I'm not cheating on Shell! I just want to be alone right now, I have a lot of things on my mind right now and I don't need you doing this right now."

Roughly getting out of his chair, he was about to take off when he bumped into what felt like a human wall.

"Oww… shit!"

"Hey Sora," said Rai as he helped his friend steady himself back into a standing position. "Sorry about that."

Upon realizing who it was, he reddened even more and charged out of the cafeteria, leaving behind a confused Rai, a concerned Shell and Yuna, and a very suspicious Selphie.

* * *

It was the last class of the day and Sora was looking forward to going back to the apartment to just sleep. 'Hell, I might even have a normal dream this time and fantasize about Shell or some really hot chick,' he thought, putting his head upon his desk. The teacher was only talking about Macbeth so he decided to ignore it; he had already read it in his last school so it would be easy for him.

'But with my record of homoerotic dreams that I've been having lately, it won't be very likely. And I'm liking them too!' He buried his face deeper into his arms and whimpered inaudibly. 'This is it. I'm becoming a fag. I totally know it. Hanging out with that dumb ass Rai is changing me.'

As he thought of that, a crumpled piece of paper slammed into his head. Picking it up from the tile floor next to his foot, he uncrumpled it and read it with a tired frown.

_Are you okay? You've been freaking out whenever I'm around you._

'God damn it…' he thought as he replied, telling him that it was nothing. Tossing it to his feet, he reburied his face into his arms and continued in trying to take that nap he needed.

Seconds later, however, he received another annoying tap on the head from the same wad of paper.

_Is it the dream?_

'This guy just doesn't know how to quit! Just fucking leave me alone already!'

_Yeah, and I'm trying to have another one right now so leave me alone!_

He could see the trace of a smile and Rai answered it with a chuckle.

_Just try to be quiet this time. I don' t think you want to have to explain why you're lustfully calling out my name._

_Thank you so much… (_

_And by the way… in your dream, make me eleven inches; I've always wondered what that was like. _

"You smug little prick!" yelled Sora, not realizing that he was in the middle of class.

"Sora! Sit down! We're in the middle of a lesson if you haven't noticed!" scolded the teacher, making the other students giggle at his expense. Realizing it, he eased himself back down and tried to keep the blush from rising too far up into his cheeks.

'Why can't I just have a normal life with a normal girlfriend, a normal group of friends? My own _dreams_ aren't even normal!' he thought as he lazily leaned back into his chair with a sigh. As he did so, another piece of paper landed onto his desk, making him raise an eyebrow.

Unfolding the note, he glared at the paper and then murderously back at Rai, his face bright red.

_You're cute when you're upset.

* * *

_

"Now Riku, don't wander too far from Sector 2. Everything you'd want would be here and I don't want to _have_ to go and try to find you," said Sephiroth as he adjusted his long black trench coat. Riku just sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Yes Father, we've been over this a hundred times. You're creeping me out with your mushiness."

His father just glared at him unthreateningly and gave him the key to their suite. "Just be back before nine. I'm not going to look for you."

"Sure, thanks!" he said as he ran off down the street, ignoring his father's concern. Even though he was cold and stoic to everyone else around them, whenever it was just the both of them, his father would show an unusually gentler side that sometimes creeped him out. Whenever it came to those moments, like now, he thanked Jenova that he was his mother's son.

'At least I don't _always_ act like I have a stick up my ass,' he thought as he slowed down to a casual stroll.

Looking around, he recognized his surroundings as the booming red-light district. The lights were bright and everything flashed in bright neon colors of pinks, reds, and toxic green.

'How far did I actually run? I need to stop daydreaming. I'm losing it!' he thought as he tried to look for something familiar. Nothing.

"Hey baby! What is a cute kid like you doing here?" said an overly perfumed woman who he presumed to be a prostitute. Riku just glared at her and walked away quickly, trying to find his way out of the place.

"Hey cutie! Come over here and we'll talk!" called out another woman, her heavily manicured nails twirling in her messy mass of brown curls.

All of the cat-calls made him more annoyed. 'Since when did the teen karaoke district become a reeking whore house?'

Things had definitely changed a lot in Midgard since the last time he was here. Before when he walked these streets he would be constantly bombarded with trendy and youthful teens on their way to the hottest karaoke spots in the sector or off to some café for a poetry reading of some kind. The shops used to be pretty nice too and had some of his favorite designers in them.

Turning a corner, he began to see that the number of whores was beginning to lighten up but they seemed to be more desperate. Whether it was because he looked to be rich or that he was attractive, or even the fact that he was barely of age, every hooker that set eyes upon him would call out to him constantly for his 'attention.' It all made him sick though and he tried to rush through the street to find a subway.

'They always have subways to the red light district, I just have to find one,' he thought. As he continued down the long street, someone grabbed his arm. It was a tall teen, roughly about his age, maybe younger, with a small plastic bag of groceries in his hand. Looking over him once, he noticed that he was Wutanese which confused him. 'Why would a guy from Wutai want live in Midgard, of _all_ places?'

"Seems that whores are more _desperate_ now of days," spat Riku as he roughly pulled his arm away from the kid. The other teen raised an eyebrow and then his face cracked into a sly smirk.

"My whoring days are over, but if I wanted you, I'd let you know."

Riku just rolled his eyes. What the hell was he doing grabbing him then?

"Come with me and don't complain, I can tell you're lost and cute lost rich kids make the sluts hungry," muttered the Wutan teen as he grabbed his wrist and roughly lead him down the opposite direction of where Riku was going.

"Wait! Where the hell do you think you're taking me?"

"To my apartment of course. I'll give you a ride to the higher class district and you can find your way home from there."

Riku pulled his arm away from him and glared back at the teen angrily.

"That's not where I want to go!"

The teen sighed and put a hand in his pocket casually.

"Listen to me, right now we need to get you out of here. This neighborhood is pretty dangerous and there are pretty desperate people who wouldn't mind kidnapping you for a ransom or selling you as someone's fuck toy. If you wanna stay, that's cool with me. But when someone beats you down and shoves you into a crate for Don Corneo, don't blame me," said the other boy, walking off farther down the street.

As soon as the teen left, another horde of whores started to cat call to him again.

"Aww, did baby boy get dumped by his boyfriend? I'll make you feel better!"

"Come with me! I'll treat you right!"

"If it boys you want, I'll let you have the first cum for free!"

"Hey asshole! Wait up!" yelled Riku as he chased after the teen who was now far down the street. All of the offers were giving him a headache and he especially wanted to get out of there. After that he would go and look for Sora. But he knew that he wasn't any good to him if he was kidnapped by needy hookers.

The Wutanese boy turned around curiously and then grinned triumphantly. "So I see you can't take it ne?" he asked as he watched the silver-haired boy try to catch his breath.

"Just... shut up and… get me… out of here," he panted as he bent over, trying to get air back into his lungs. The other boy just shrugged and began to walk off.

"This way."

The rest of the walk was in silence and surprisingly enough, there were no cat calls. In fact, the girls seemed to be calling out to the other boy enthusiastically.

"Hey Lai! Sarah had a baby! Come over and see them sometime!" yelled one exuberant woman wearing a way too tight sailor uniform.

"We miss you Lai!" called out a chorus of girls, all giggling when they got his attention.

"Nihao ladies!" he greeted back, making the other girls wave excitedly and blowing him kisses. Riku just stared confusedly at him when he waved back at them casually, like they were simple school friends of his.

After they got farther away and the greeting stopped, the other teen turned his attention back to him.

"Sorry about that. They are a few friends of mine. They took care of me," he said as they entered the lighter side of the red light district. Now it seemed mostly filled with clothing stores and small time cafes with one light porn shop on the corner. Other than that, this part of the neighborhood seemed a lot more tolerable than the rest that he had been in but it still was a place that he wasn't too happy to be in.

'How could someone live in this district? What kind of a guy is he?' he thought as he followed him to the back of a clothing store and up the back stairs. Above the sop was a small hallway with two opposite doors. This, he supposed, was the apartment where he was staying.

"The land lord lives on the other end of the business district so he let us stay as long as we cleaned up and such, kept the place nice," said the other teen as he pulled out his keys and opened the door.

Walking inside, the apartment seemed a bit… empty. It appeared to only be off-white walls and tan carpets with a modest sized television and a single couch that appeared to be from the used furniture lot. But everything was arranged in such a manner that it could seem to the average person to be quite quaint and even go on to the verge of comfortable.

"Sit down while I put these things away. Can't let them spoil now," said the Wutan as he walked to the kitchen to put the groceries away. Eying the couch, Riku uneasy sat down and looked at the blank black screen of the TV.

"My name is Rai by the way! Rai Kisaragi! What's yours?" called the teen from the kitchen.

"I'm Riku Lockheart."

"Oh, well, that's cool. I'm going to make a killer Kifuu if you want to stay awhile for dinner. My roommate should be back soon and I know he'd love some company," said Rai as he walked back out of the kitchen with a Wutanese soda in his hand.

'Oh great, his roommate. Looking at this guy, I don't think I want to meet whoever the heck he is.'

"No thank you. I don't want to interrupt you and your boyfriend," said Riku politely as he received the drink.

"Oh no, he's not my boyfriend. I mean, I _want_ him to be but he's way too gaga over his new girlfriend to really care. Hell, I've even did it with him but now he's still pushing me away," said Rai with a sigh, opening up his soda.

"But he moved in with you so that's something. Guys don't move in with other guys and _stay_ after they've been hit on. He likes you too, you just don't get it yet," said Riku matter-of-factly, sipping on his drink. It was actually pretty good, a blend of watermelon and exotic fruit from Wutai with a hint of mint in the after taste.

Looking at the ceiling, Rai swigged down the last of his drink. "Yeah, I guess you have a point there. I mean, it _wasn't_ like I raped him or anything and he _still_ talks to me like nothing happened. Besides, he always gets so flustered whenever I say he's cute," he said with a laugh.

'God, I _really_ don't want to listen to him and his gay love problems. I need to go look for Sora and this is getting me no where,' thought Riku as he finished the rest of his drink.

"I need to go. I'm looking for a friend and I need to find him soon," said the silver-haired teen as he stood up, placing the soda on the coffee table. 'Actually, I think the coffee table is my favorite thing in the whole apartment.'

Rai shrugged and put his soda bottle onto the table, his eyes lingering between it and the sofa for a few seconds as he stood. Riku raised an eyebrow about this but just shrugged it off.

"So, who _is_ this person that you are looking for. You obviously aren't from Midgard so this guy must be pretty important to you," asked the raven haired teen as he walked him out of the door.

"None of your business. I know who he is and that's all that matters."

"Jeez, so touchy," replied Rai, holding up his hands. "It's kind of obvious that there were some kind of suppressed feelings but I didn't mean to his a sore spot. I was just asking in case I know the guy. But by the way you look, any guy who knew you would be pretty easy to pick out in a crowd, knowing him or not."

They walked down the stairs and Rai led him to the back alleyway to his motorcycle, chained up against the wall.

"Well hop on. I'll take you to the terminal in the upscale business district. That train should be able to take you anywhere you would want to go after that. Just don't take the Limli Boulevard stop, it'll send you right back here and I'm not gonna save you again," said Rai as he straddled the motorcycle gracefully, pulling on his helmet.

"We're seriously going to ride on _that_?" asked Riku in more of a statement than a question. The other teen nodded and pat behind him, offering him a seat. With a sigh and a few sarcastic breaths, he seated himself behind him and strapped the spare helmet onto his head. "Just don't get me killed. It would be in your best interests if I stay alive."

"I know you're the so of some elite kid in ShinRa. They are sending in experts this week to train soldiers against Wutai so I know that if I accidentally _dropped_ one of their kids, I'd pretty much be shot," he said jokingly as he started revving up the engine.

They started up and sped away as Sora began to turn the opposite corner to their apartment.

* * *

A/N: Okay, I'm so sorry that I haven't put out my chapters for this story sooner. I just haven't really felt like writing this part since school ended for me and now college is about to start! I'm so horrible! cries miserably Well, I think that this story will be going in its right direction now. I haven't been so angsty this summer so I haven't had the emotions to properly write on this. But hopefully that will be over! I know that when school starts up, this story will get dramatic like it needs to be. But I'll hopefully be updating _way_ before my classes start! Well, please review! And I hope you like that Riku is now back into the story. This could complicate things for Sora! A girlfriend, a roommate who wants to be something more, and a childhood friend who has loved him from afar! What could be more exciting! Well, conspiracy, revelations on people's shady pasts, and an organization on the brink of war with assassins galore! But that will come in later! Bye! REVIEW! 


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